


Stories for Steven

by CarleyT



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Couldn't think of any more though, Crystal gems see and take care of Steven for the first time, Cute little baby Steven, Cutiepie - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Gem history, Giant Woman, Little man, Steven Universe - Freeform, Stevenbomb 5 coming soon yay, Stories about Greg, Stories about Rose Quartz, Stories about each gem, Stories for Steven, many more tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:36:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8524213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarleyT/pseuds/CarleyT
Summary: Steven is old enough for the whole truth now, and it is because of this, that he asks his dad and the Gems about their past. The Gems willingly tell him about what shaped them, and their lives before the "Crystal Gems" ever exsisted. The stories will not be in order, sorry, and I do not own any of the characters. All characters are property of Rebecca Sugar.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is so long. Idk if I am going to make this two chapters or just one. But please enjoy, and remember that they are not in "historical " order. I am currently writing a chapter for my other story, and if you know what I am talking about, don't worry. New content is coming soon. Btw guys, I will write as much as possible, but with school and basketball, and drama club, and work, I am busy all the time, so just bare with me. I will write as much as I can, whenever I can, and post it as soon as I can. Thank you! (Whose ready for Gem Harvest on the 17th? Ik I am!)

"GarnetAmethystnPearl can you tell me a story?" Steven asked the Gems one day.

Garnet hummed, Pearl looked at him with wide eyes and Amethyst just stood there.

It was Garnet who broke the silence. "Okay Steven, what would you like to hear about?"

"How about a nice fairytale, or a historical fiction?" Pearl asked.

"Okay," Steven agreed, jumping onto the couch and sitting all the way back. When he was comfortable, he patted the seat next to him, and Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl sat down on either side of him. Well, actually Amethyst sat on the coffee table, but it was close enough. "Tell me a story about one of you guys. The full story, with no sugar-coating." Steven was almost sixteen now, and he felt that he was old enough to hear more in depth details from Gem history and their involvement in human history, in full detail without being told he was too young.

The Gems looked at each other in understanding. Steven had done very well all of these years, and proved that he too was a Crystal Gem, and the others decided it was time they began telling him more than just the small stuff.

Amethyst, who understood why they kept things from Steven, was never perfectly fine with it. There was things she didn't know either, and it bothered her, not that she would ever tell anyone that. "Alright," she shrugged, "how about I tell you about how I was in the Kindergarten, and Rose found me?"

Pearl and Garnet gasped. "Amethyst, are you sure?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, Amethyst, you don't have to," Steven assured her.

Amethyst was still a little messed up about her time spent in the kindergarten, and being "defective," but she was coming to terms with it, and herself. Amethyst nodded, "yes, but I need to. You...you should know."

Steven nodded, understanding what it took for Amethyst to talk about things from her past, especially if they weren't necessarily good things.

"Okay Steven," she began, "it all started when  
..."  
_____________________________________________

The little gem opened her eyes. It was pretty dark, but also cozy and familiar.

Where am I? she wondered, looking around. A bright light peeked around the corner, and it drew the small gem out. She squinted in the open sunlight, and looked behind her. She gasped as she saw a giant mountain behind her, covered in holes. And there was another of there, and another of there...everywhere she looked, she could see holes. Does this mean that there are more of me? she thought to herself. The little Gem spun around, taking in the the dull gray and quietness of her surroundings.

She let out a little roar, listening to the echo reverberate throughout the caves. She giggled and let out another roar, a bit louder this time. Once she had gotten bored of doing that (and it had been a while), she decided it was time to explore. She found that she had surprising strength, and was able to pull herself up the mountain side with ease, finding little foot and handholds to help her up. She tirelessly looked into each hole for days, hoping to find someone or something within, but even after searching  every hole in the Kindergarten, she found nothing. The little gem sighed in defeat. She was tired, and all alone in this big place.

She wearily walked back to her hole, and crawled inside. She had no idea where she was, or even really what she was. She only knew that she had no memories of anything before she woke up. Amethyst curled into herself, and even though she knew she didn't have to (she didn't know how she knew, she just did) she fell asleep.

It was sometime until the little gem woke up. The sky was grey, and water was falling from the sky. Of course, the little gem proceeded to dance in it, and stick her tongue out trying to catch the drops. Puddles formed on the ground, and she jumped and splashed in them, giggling as she was coated in mud, and drenched from head to toe.

She shook herself off, like a dog, and decided to do a little more exploring around the mountains, and she decided to check out other holes as well.

She went through this same routine daily, checking the different holes, and under rocks, but there was no sign of anything. Her hopes for at least one friend were diminishing. But then- yes, she definitely heard a sound, like rocks falling down a hill. She turned toward the sound with a frown, and heard the noise again.

Yup, there was definitely something. The gem smiled. Maybe it would finally be a friend! She thought about what she would say to her new friend. "Hello," she said, "my name is..." Oh, what was her name? She didn't even know. "Hello," she tried again, "What's your name?" She nodded, deciding this was the better way to go. She walked in the direction she heard the sound from, even though she hadn't heard it again. When she came to a dead end, she stopped and listened harder. 

There was...she could hear mumbling? She squealed in delight and climbed up the cliff side with even more energy and strength than usual. 

She peeked her head in every hole along the side as she went. "Hello?" Nothing. "Anyone in here?" Nothing in this hole either. She came to a hole close to the top and peeked inside. "Hello?" she asked, "anyone in here?"

There was no response yet again, and she was about to leave when she heard a quiet gasp. The gem crawled in halfway, squinting in the dark after being outside for a few hours. "I know heard something," she said. "Show yourself." She thought she saw the silhouette of a person. "Hello, what's your name?" She asked. 

The gem in there with her sighed. "I hoped you wouldn't find me," she said sadly.

"Why not?" The little gem was confused. Didn't this one want a friend too?

"Because...because I don't even know who you are!" it  said.

Oh. Well that made a little sense. "Umm, well I'm-" the little Gem paused. She still had no idea who she was.

"Exactly!" the other one exclaimed.

"Well...who are you?" The little purple gem asked. 

The other sighed. "I don't...I don't know..." 

The two sat in silence for a moment, and then the little purple gem spoke up. "Wanna go outside?"

The other one looked at her and nodded. They crawled out of the hole, and down the mountain. When they were out, the purple gem looked at her new friend. She was completely black, except for her eyes, and she had a blackish grey thing on her arm.

The black gem saw the purple one's gaze and looked at her arm. "Oh, yeah, that. I guess it's part of me. Like a birthmark or something."

The purple gem could not stop staring at it. It was shiny, and cool, and had a strange design on it.

The black gem gasped, "you have one too!"

The purple gem jumped. "What? Where?"

The black gem pointed, and the little purple one looked down in surprise. In the middle of her chest sat a shiny purple gem. She had never seen it before, and in fact, she hadn't really noticed that she was purple either. "Wow!" she gasped, touching the thing on her chest. It was hard as a rock and it was embedded in her, though it didn't hurt.

"I'm going to call you Purple," the black gem said.

"Okay, then I'll call you Blackie," said Purple retorted teasingly, happy to have a new friend.

Blackie giggled. "This is great! I thought I would be all alone forever."

"Whaaaat?" Purple gasped. "Me too!"

Both started screaming, doing a jig in a circle, and so their friendship began. During the day, they would go exploring together, and at night they would visit each other and talk for hours.

They didn't know how long this went on, time had no meaning. There was just day, and night, and even that didn't matter.

Until one day...

Amethyst was resting in Blackie's hole, and so was Blackie, when they suddenly heard a noise that got louder as it got closer. Amethyst cracked an eye open, and then shot up as the sound was right over the top of them. 

It was like a loud, whining, buzzing sound, and the two Gems could feel the wind it was producing from inside the cave.

"What's going on?" Blackie asked.

"I don't know," Purple replied, looking to the sky. A giant metal looming thing came gliding over, blocking out the majority of the sun, and casting everything into shadow. The hull of it was wide, and blackish gray.

"Get out," Blackie said suddenly.

Purple looked back at her, eyebrows raised. Did she hear her right? Did she say-

"Get. Out!" Blackie repeated.

"What? Why?" Purple asked. This wasn't like her friend.

"I have a bad feeling about this," was all she said.

"But I don't understand, Purple said.

"Please, get somewhere safe. Please! I don't know what's going on, but it can't be good. Run! Hide! And don't come out to look for me until they are gone," Blackie begged.

Purple sniffled. She didn't like the turn that this day had taken. She didn't like not knowing what was happening. She didn't want to leave her friend behind. She didn't think they should split up, but she understood, and she ran to give her friend a fierce hug, and was hugged fiercely in return. "Stay safe," Purple told her.

Blackie nodded, "you too."

Purple wiped away a tear. She took one last look at Blackie, before all but jumping down the mountainside. She sprinted to her hole, but then stopped. What if they were to come looking for her there? Assuming that's why they were there, which Purple had a feeling was the reason. She made a split-second decision, and hightailed it in the opposite direction. She crawled into a different hole, one that was cold, and had clearly been abandoned long ago. She had a clear view of Blackie's hole, and the ship, and stared with rapt attention.

The door opened and two figures walked out. One was grey, with long black hair, and she looked like an older and taller version of Blackie. She was dressed in military gear (which of course "Purple" had never seen before and therefore didn't know about, but for the sake of description), and had a stern expression on her face.

The figure standing beside her was green, and had a screen that she occasionally tapped on.

"Peridot, do you know why we are here?" The grey figure asked.

"Of course Onyx," Peridot responded in a nasally voice, sounding a bit annoyed. "We are here to retrieve two Gems that have taken too long to form, and we are bringing them back to Homeworld to train them."

"Correct," Onyx said, "if it weren't for Rose Quartz and those other traitor Gems, we wouldn't have this problem. Now we are running out of warriors. We need these two in order to win. Now whom are we looking for?" she asked.

"We are looking for an onyx gem, and an amethyst gem," Peridot recited, sounding bored.

Onyx nodded. "Good, let's go."

They walked along, Peridot leading the way, and the purple gem held her breath and scooted back into the darkness as they walked right passed her. She released it when they passed, but then held it again when they stood right in front of her hole.

"Come out Amethyst gem," Onyx demanded. "We are here to take you home." When she got no response, she looked at Peridot and nodded. 

Peridot squared her shoulders and walked into the hole. She came back out a moment later shaking her head.

Onyx opened her mouth but then closed it and began looking around. "We need to find her. Quartz gems make excellent soldiers."

Peridot was looking at the details over the hole. "Umm, Commander, you may want to see this."

Onyx looked up and walked over to where Peridot was standing.

"Look at the size of the hole, and the markings. Not only did this gem stay in too long, but she could also be defective."

Onyx sighed. "Of course. She would have made an excellent soldier too. But we can't have her going over to the side of the Crystal clods. Let's find the other, and then leave. I have to report this." She began walking, and then stopped. "What about the other? Is she defective too?"

Peridot shrugged. 

Onyx growled, "well?"

"U-umm the chances are split that she either is or isn't defective," Peridot responded. She seemed a little intimidated now.

Onyx rolled her eyes. "If you can't do your job properly, than what use do we have for you," she spat.

Peridot swallowed. "T-this w-way," she stuttered, all the superiority washed away. She led her to Blackie's hole, and Purple covered her mouth to conceal a little yelp. 

She prayed that they wouldn't find her friend. Surely Blackie would have been smart and hid in a different hole. But her hopes were dashed as she watched Onyx climb the mountain side, look into the hole, and grab a screaming Blackie by the foot.

Purple shook her head as she watched her only friend be pulled down the mountainside. Blackie was kicking and screaming the whole time. When they reached the bottom, Purple could see the similarities between the two more clearly now.

"The onyx gem has been retrieved," Onyx said, holding Blackie out for Peridot to inspect.

Peridot hummed thoughtfully, looking at her "birthmark", which Purple realized was apparently a gemstone, and her overall appearance.

"I have come to a conclusion," Peridot said after a while, "though this Onyx has clearly taken a while to properly form, she isn't defective and should grow to the proper height in a few decades. She'll make a fine warrior for the war."

Onyx nodded in relief. "At least this trip wasn't a total waste. I'm still disappointed in not receiving the Amethyst gem, and I am sure the Diamonds will not be pleased. They were hoping to get a warrior. That was why the Amethyst gem was made after all. But, she probably didn't last long if she was defective. Come along, let's get out of this place. We still have to check the other kindergarten."

They began walking back to the ship, Blackie  (or should she say Onyx) was under the bigger version's arm, and was still struggling, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Don't worry little one. We are getting you out of here so you can join the rest of the Gems on Homeworld as we prepare for battle. You are going to help us win a war, or die trying," Onyx said in what she probably thought sounded soothing, but was actually terrible sounding.

Blackie screamed as they boarded the ship, and it echoed around the entire Kindergarten. It was a scream of loss and horror and sadness, and it was a scream that Purple would never forget. She watched as the ship flew up, and disappeared from sight. Then, Purple began crying. She cried for her friend, and their situation, and her new found loneliness.

She stayed in that hole that wasn't hers for weeks, or even months (she didn't know and she didn't care), and grieved the loss of her friend. When she was sure the scary (what did they call themselves? Gems?) Gems wouldn't come back, she crawled to her hole and slept for a very long time.

Weeks later, when Purple finally crawled out from her hole, she blinked up into the sun for the first time in about eight months. She let the warmth hit her as she sat and replayed the horrible image of her only friend being carried into a giant ship and being flown away. 

What was Homeworld? she wondered. And what battle? Why did they take her only friend away from her? Why didn't she do anything to stop them?

Purple put two and two together on some things. Like that Big Onyx was probably a Commander of some sort, while Peridot was an informant or something. And they expected little Onyx (they clearly called each other by their Gems) to train and fight in some big war.  
She also figured that the Diamonds were probably some kind of authority figure.

She hoped that they never came back, and if they did, she would put up a fight.

(Even though she knew that technically her name was Amethyst now, she would go by Purple for a while yet...not that it mattered since she was alone now anyways.)

As the days went by, Purple became more lonely, and more wild. She took to crawling rather than walking, and she found that she could run and then roll into a ball, and she did that all throughout the Kindergarten. For fun, she would bark at the stray bird that would dare land (not that much of that ever appeared, the Kindergarten was too dark and dreary a place) and she would lift rocks to build her strength, though she rarely did that. 

The rocks became her friends, and then her family. She would talk to them, sleep by them, crawl over them, sit and think on them, and just be around them, because if she just pretended that they were real and responded when she spoke to them, she didn't feel so alone.  

She tried her very best not to think of Blackie, but when she did, she wondered where her friend was now? Was she okay? Was she hurt? What ever happened in the supposed war? Did it even happen yet? Where was Homeworld? Was it far from here?

This routine continued for some time, and Purple began growing restless. Her hair was long and mangy, her nails had dirt embedded in them, and she was covered in bruises and scratches, trying to defeat a rock "enemy." 

She was sharpening a rock with another, and then she ran her finger over it. It didn't hurt, but when it drew blood she knew it was sharp enough. She brought it up to her hair and began hacking at it. When it was barely touching the top of her neck, she used it to pick some of the dirt out from underneath her nails. When she was done, she threw the rock shard and watched it bounce off the side of the mountain and shatter. Then she closed her eyes and let the sunlight hit her. She was no longer hot because she no longer had long hair weighing her down. She just sat there in silence  (which was basically what she did daily), until it became dark and chilly.

Purple wasn't tired, and she was bored, so she did some running around (on all fours, and rolling of course). Suddenly, a big looming thing appeared in front of her. Something she had never seen before. It was kind of shaped like an oval. Purple went up to touch it. It was cold and hard. Metal, she thought. It was too dark to really see anything else though, so Purple decided to head back to her hole, and come back in the morning.

She lay outside on her back, looking up at the many white dots in the sky. They were so pretty and the sky was so clear. Purple wondered what it was that she saw earlier, and why she hadn't seen it before. 

In the morning, when she awoke, she quickly set out to find the thing she saw last night. She walked for hours though, trying to find it. "I must have gone out really far last night," she muttered. Finally, she spotted it. It was metal, and skinny, like a tube. And it had needle-like legs, and a large container thing coming out of the top of it, with mutilple needles at the bottom pointing toward the ground. Purple shivered. It looked so strange and felt...evil, like its purpose was to harm. She gingerly touched it, and jumped back, expecting something to happen, but it just sat there.

"Guess it's broken," Purple sighed with a shrug. She looked up and gasped. There were more of them, all along the mountainside. Everywhere she looked, one of these metals things were attached. Purple put her hands to her head. Why was she just seeing these now? None of this made any sense. What were those things? She wished someone could answer her questions. But she was all alone. Purple's shoulders slumped as she walked all the way back to her hole. It was only about midday, so she decided to take the long way. She took a path that she didn't really recognize. Some parts looked familiar  (of course there really wasn't any differences because everything was rock, but still...) but some didn't.

"Guess I didn't explore the whole Kindergarten like I originally thought," she shrugged. She continued her walk with her head down, kicking at pebbles and medium sized rocks in her path. Nothing made any sense to her anymore. She was alone, and so very confused. She was so caught up in her thoughts, that she almost missed it. 

Her head sprung up, and her eyes went wide. To the side of her, about 20 yards up was a giant glowing platform overlooking the whole Kindergarten. It had glass and diamonds surrounding it, and was a glassy blue. Purple scrambled up the side of the mountain to get a better look at it. She observed the outside and found that it was very hard. She climbed onto it and expected to be cold like everything else in the Kindergarten, but it was warm and buzzing with energy. 

Back at the hole, Purple was pacing. What were the two things she saw today? Were they good or bad? The first thing definitely looked ominous, but the second one she wasn't all that sure about. She kicked a boulder in frustration and watched as it bounced into another, splitting it in half. She huffed and crawled into her hole. At this point, she just wished someone or something would show up. If not to save her, than to at least give her some sort of purpose. That was what she was missing. She felt incomplete. She lacked a sense of purpose. She was created for a reason, but why? To fight? She blinked furiously as a tear pricked the corner of her eye. She hated crying. She hadn't since Blackie was taken. Was that her duty? To fight in a war or die trying? It sure seemed like it according to that Peridot and the bigger version of Blackie, Onyx.

Purple hated this. She never asked to be made, and she never asked to be "created" this late in the game. All of it was so unfair.

Some time passed, and Purple began to resent herself and her situation even more. She became more fierce and wild as time passed. On the days were she felt slightly more calm and stable, she would sit and stare at the platform, watching and wishing for something to happen. But nothing ever did.

Until a few months later...

Purple was laying on her sitting rock, doing what she called, "lying there, thinking about happiness," or in this case, meditating. She thought about finally being with someone who didn't care about her background. Someone that she could trust and depend on. Someone who wouldn't leave her. She was thinking about all of this when she heard a noise. It was like a buzzing whine, and for a second she panicked, thinking it was something from Homeworld, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that this sound was quite different. She sprinted in the direction of the sound, and froze when she saw the platform. There was a lady standing by it. She had large, curly, pink hair, and a white dress. She turned around and Purple could see that she had a star cut out in the middle of her dress, and a rose colored gem could be clearly seen in it. She looked so peaceful and friendly, and a calming presence seemed to follow her.

So this was another gem? Purple wondered, watching her.

The Gem was humming to herself as she looked around. Purple watched her through half lidded eyes. All of the tension and fear was drained from her body. This Gem was the only source of light in this desolate place. And then, she climbed onto the platform, and disappeared into a stream of light.

"No, don't leave," Purple yelled, running to the platform. She climbed up on it, but of course had no idea how it worked. She sighed, alone once again, and walked back to her hole.

She spent the whole day on her sitting rock, thinking about the Gem she saw. She was the first one in a long time who actually appeared to be nice.

The Gem didn't come back for quite some time, but Purple didn't lose hope that she would see her again, one day.  
_____________________________________________

"So what happened after that?" Steven asked, stars in his eyes.

Amethyst smiled, and huffed. Pearl wiped at a stray tear, and Garnet put her hand on both Amethyst's and Steven's shoulders.

Amethyst looked up at Garnet and smiled. Then she looked back down at Steven amd continued her story. "Well, one day..."  
_____________________________________________

 

Purple had learned that she had a weapon. 

One day, the platform had activated, but it wasn't the Gem. It was a monster who roared and growled and spit.

It had green eyes with no pupils, messy blue hair/fur and it had multiple limbs that were an assortment of oranges and reds. It looked right at Purple and growled, low in its throat.

Purple, feeling very uneasy, slowly backed away, but the monster just crept closer.

It backed her into a corner, and she whimpered. What was she supposed to do?

The monster opened its mouth to reveal many sharp teeth as it roared. Purple flinched and shut her eyes. She didn't want to see anymore. 

But then she became angry. The one thing that came for her, and it was a monster who wanted to kill her? She didn't think so. This was her home, and she wasn't afraid of anything. She was strong now, and she was angry. She raked her hand down the mountain, flinging dirt and stones into the monster's eyes. It yelped and fell backward, giving Purple plenty of time to duck under it (being small had its advantages).

She felt her chest burn with a ferocity, and it began glowing a purple light. She looked down at the gem in her chest, and by pure instinct, reached down. Her hand wrapped around a handle, and pulled. She felt no pain, just a strange sensation. She looked at what came out. In her hands was vine-like whip with purple spikes on it. The hand-grip was a purple knob, and it fit in her hand like it was made for her. She snapped her hand a few times, and watched as the whip jumped.

Purple smiled, and flicked her wrist, sending the end of the whip right into the monster. It roared, and whipped around to face her. Its eyes were narrowed, and it swiped one of its many feet along the ground as it huffed. Dust blew from its nose. Purple flicked the whip again and again and again, and each time it hit the monster about the face.

The monster charged, and Purple side-stepped just in time, avoiding being trampled. It growled, and charged again. This time, Purple rolled, which gave her an idea. She ran and then rolled, rolling in a purple ball all around the monster, confusing and taunting it.

The monster spun in cirlces trying to keep up but it was too big and too slow. It shook its head, disoriented, and Purple saw her opportunity. She snapped her wrist, and the whip wrapped around the midsection of the monster. Purple yanked, and the monster disappeared with a pop.

"That was nicely done," said a voice behind her.

Purple whirled around and stood agape. Behind her was the lady with the giant pink hair. She was even more radiant up close, and her voice was so soft and kind. Purple did the only thing she could think of. She ran. 

Back to her hole. And then she curled herself into a ball, hoping that she would become so small she would be practically invisible, just in case she was sought out. Thoughts whirled through her head. She just killed something. Sure, it was a monster, and its intention was probably to kill her, but she killed it nonetheless. What did that say about her? Was she just living out her purpose? She fought, so that must have been what had happened. And where had that whip come from? Her gem? Why, what did it mean? And who was that woman she kept seeing? She wished she had the answers. She hated being in the dark.

"Hello?" the voice asked. "Little gem? Where are you? I won't hurt you, I promise." It sounded like she was right outside Purple's hole.

Purple held her breath, and released it once she knew that the lady (was she a gem too? She must have been, she had one on her stomach) had left. She sighed. She was so mixed up and confused. Her head hurt, and so did her stomach. She unfurled and fell over, dry-heaving even though she had no reason for substance or oxygen. Tears splattered against the rocky ground. Was this what her life had come to? Bored, confused, wild all the time? When did it end? She didn't know who to trust. That lady? She was a gem, but so were the people that took her only friend away, and in Purple's eyes, that did not make them nice people.

"Aha, there you are. Come on out," said the familiar voice.

Purple's head whipped up, and she could see the silhouette of the other Gem in the cave entrance. She quickly dropped her head, and curled back into a ball.

"Won't you come out? Please. I won't hurt you, I swear, and I never break a promise."

Purple didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the loneliness. Maybe it was the constant confusion. Maybe she really wanted answers, and to be with someone who would care about her, and never leave her again. Whatever it was, Purple slowly crawled out from her hole into the setting sun.

She looked up tiredly at the other gem from the ground, not bothering to stand up. She was tired of running, tired of being in this place any longer.

The Gem looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "What is your name little one?"

Right then and there, Purple decided to let go of her past. It was over, and even though it had made a pretty big impact on her life, none of it mattered now. What mattered now was the present, and that was it. She didn't even want to think about the future. "A-Amethyst," she responded, letting go of the old name a good friend had once given her.

"Amethyst," the tall gem spoke. "My name is Rose. Rose Quartz."

Amethyst blinked up at the grand Rose Quartz. So this is the one who had been mentioned all those years ago. This was the leader of the rebellion against Homeworld. Amethyst didn't know what to do, so she bowed, still on the ground.

Rose chuckled lightly, but it was a kind of self-deprecating chuckle. "My dear little Amethyst gem, you don't have to do that.

Amethyst blushed and looked back at the ground.

"Amethyst, how long have you been here?" Rose asked softly, concern etched all over her face.

Amethyst began telling Rose her story, and she didn't leave anything out. It might have seemed strange, being the first person she saw in a while, and also being a Gem, but Amethyst trusted her. 

She told her of when she first woke up, to when her friend was taken, even about what the very first gems she met had said. She told her every detail, up until this very moment, and every emotion she had ever felt during all of these years.

By the time she was done, the sun was just a sliver of light along the horizon. Tears raced each other down her cheeks. Telling her story to someone who listened realeased a new emotion within her. For once, she felt respected, but at the same time, unworthy. After all, she was defective (whatever that meant) and she had just told this great leader, who obviously knew what she was talking about because her eyes went wide, and then watery.

"I am so sorry," Rose apologized. "I can't even imagine how awful that must have been. What are you feeling now?"

Amethyst hadn't expected this question. "U-umm...scared, happy, sad, angry, lonely, and... confused?" she said, listing off of her fingers.

Rose bent down, and Amethyst could see the tears in her eyes at Amethyst's expense. Amethyst wasn't expecting this either, and before she knew what was happening, Rose wrapped Amethyst in a big hug. "There is no longer any need to be lonely. Come back with me. We will take care of you," she whispered gently, a tear falling from her cheek onto Amethyst's shoulder. 

Amethyst no longer felt frozen. For the first time in her life, she was safe, and happy, and warm inside.

Amethyst gave in immediately, rhough she didn't know who "we" was, and Rose grabbed her hand and gave it an assuring squeeze. Together, the two walked all the way back to the warp pad, just as the sun was setting, and disappeared into a stream of light.

The whole time, one thought ran through Amethyst's mind. 'I am home.'

(For years afterward, Amethyst would visit the Kindergarten from time to time. After all, you never forget your roots, no matter how hard you try. She would go, and sit on her rock, and think a while, maybe for one day, maybe for two. But she would always come back home, home to Rose and the other kind gems she met at the Temple. Because now, she had a new purpose. Protecting the earth and all of humanity as a Crystal Gem.)

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One last note: The Peridot in this story, was not our great and lovable Peridot. She was a different one. I guess you could say she was one of the first Peridots, like an experiment, especially during the Rebellion if they were meant to replace Pearls in some way.


	2. Chapter 2~Before the Rebellion (part I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Quartz is a powerful guard to the one and only Pink Diamond, who has taken a special interest in Earth. She sends Rose and Rose's new pearl to go investigate the planet, and report back on their findings. This is part one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More parts will be coming, and they will be in order, but there will probably be some breaks in between them (Just look for the part numbers in the chapter title). Enjoy!

(More than 5,800 years ago)

Homeworld was finally coming into itself. Gems were being mass produced, and the Diamonds were in control of two or more planets each. Everything was going to plan. War had even stopped for a while.

Each Diamond had a Pearl, a quiet and loyal servant that was the color of the Diamond they were assigned to. There were plenty of other Pearls created daily, but they were only given to specific Gems deemed worthy by the Diamonds.

It was around this time that the Diamonds had taken an interest in a certain planet. This planet was mostly water, but it did have land too, and according to Gem records, it was inhabited. One Diamond in particular became increasingly interested in this planet. 

Pink Diamond. 

She believed that they could create another new colony, and there were plenty of resources to create more Kindergartens. The other Diamonds saw it as a possibility in the future, but they dismissed it for now. Pink Diamond however, did not. She looked at Earth each day, planning her uses for the planet.

A few decades before, Pink Diamond had requested a body guard. Being in charge of armies and new colonies also meant that she would need more protection from enemies, so she had a Rose Quartz soldier designed specifically for her, without any flaws. She would be powerful, obedient, loyal, and brave. She would be an unstoppable force.

Rose Quartz was assigned to Pink Diamond, with the duty to protect her at all costs, no matter what happened, and Rose did just that. She was always around Pink Diamond, constantly by her side, watching and waiting, and when Pink Diamond sent her off to take a break, Rose would train, and fight. She was very skilled with a sword, and of course she had her giant pink shield with a rose carved into the middle of it, and vines spiraling outward.

Pink Diamond admired Rose's abilities, and didn't even really mind her compassion for others. It seemed to just make her better at her job.

"Rose Quartz," Pink Diamond said to her one day. She was sitting in her light pink throne, overlooking the galaxy.

"Yes my Diamond?" Rose asked, bowing low.

"I would like to take a look at this...Earth. And based upon your skill set, I believe you would be the perfect Gem for the job."

"My Diamond?" Rose asked confused.

"I believe that Earth will be very useful to us. I am assigning you to take a trip there. You will check out the land, and the resources, and the...organic life that appears to be inhabiting the planet. You will report back to me, and then return home, where we will convince the other Gems of the importance of this planet to us. Of course, you will not be going alone. I will be assigning you a Pearl. She will assist on you journey."

"A-a Pearl?" Rose asked dumbfounded. Only the most elite of gems got Pearls.

"Did I stutter?" Pink Diamond asked. She did not like having her authority questioned.

Rose, realizing her mistake, cleared her throat. "Very well my Diamond. When do we leave?"

Pink Diamond nodded, amazed at the ability of the Quartz to pull herself together so fast. Most gems would still be quaking in their shoes.

"You leave in two months. Your Pearl will be assigned to you in two days. That is all. You may leave."

Rose bowed again, and took her leave. She knew the earth mission was a test, and it wasn't one she would fail.

Later that day*

Bismuth laughed, deep and hearty. She thought the whole thing was funny. "You? With a Pearl?" Bismuth was one of Rose's only friends. Most Gems didn't have friends. They had "partners" in battle, or platoons. They would be close enough to perform fusion if the need arose, but that was only with their own gem type. It was unheard of for two different Gems to fuse, though occasionally, it did happen. Rose tried to distance herself from many. She had a job to do, and she had to put all of her concentration into it, but Bismuth wormed her way in nonetheless, and Rose found she didn't mind the little bit of company. She could talk freely without all the formalness of serving a Diamond.

"Pink Diamond feels that I deserve one," Rose said. "Perhaps you are just jealous?"

Pearls were only servants, but owning one gave you a particular quality over everyone else. It made you more important. It was the reason every Diamond had one. Though Rose wasn't quite sure where Pink Diamond's was (she knew better than to ask).

Bismuth laughed again. "I just can't picture it. You, the great Rose Quartz, the soldier who assisted the magnificent Pink Diamond in the defeat of the Second Galaxy? You? Who took on thirty soldiers alone with just you sword and shield? I apologize for laughing, but I just think you're better than that."

Rose sighed. "Pink Diamond knows what is best for her subjects, and that is that."

Bismuth leaned in. "Listen. I don't really know about any of this. I mean, are the Diamonds really helping us, or are they only helping themselves? It would be so easy to take them down. Sometimes I can't help but think about escaping it all. To be free. To live under my own rules, to-

Rose immediately covered Bismuth's mouth. "Listen here," she hissed. "You among all Gems do not have any place or authority to say anything about our great leaders. You are only a builder, you can be easily replaced, and you would do well to never speak of this again, and never to me again. Good bye." Rose let her hand fall, and she took off, leaving her only companion behind. (At that moment, she felt no guilt for what she had done. Gems did not talk about their superiors in such a way, and they certainly didn't speak of rebellion. But later...)

Two days later, Rose was setting up plans for her Earth trip, when a knock came from her chamber. Rose turned. "Yes?"

An Obsidian Gem entered. They were in charge of assigning gems to others. "It is time for you to meet your Pearl."

"Oh," Rose said. This was certainly going to be a new experience, and she was almost anxious if she was honest with herself. "Yes, I am ready."

"Very well, follow me," Obsidian said disappearing down the hall.

Rose took a deep breath, and then followed Obsidian out. They climbed onto the warp pad platform outside in the "courtyard." Warping was something rather new and a much faster method of travel. The light rose up around them, and within seconds, it dropped again. 

They stood in front of a very big building (modern-day version of a factory), with puffs of colors coming out from chimney tops.

"This way," Obsidian said, heading inside.

She led her down many halls, and Rose couldn't help but notice the different doors labeled for the many different types of gems being created. There were Rubies, and Onyxs, and Obsidians, and more. The whole place was one giant kindergarten. They stopped at a door labeled, Pearls.

"Ah, here we are," Obsidian said, placing her hand on the pad lock. It glowed, showing the Diamond insignia, and the door swung open. Obsidian walked inside, and motioned for Rose to follow.

She cautiously stepped in, and looked around. There were hundreds of Pearls, some still in various stages of preparation.

Obsidian led her to one who stood in a corner, awaiting instruction. When they stood in front of her, the pearl bowed low as was per usual.;"Rise," Obsidian commanded. The pearl immediately did as she was asked. "Hmm," Obsidian hummed, observing the pearl with a keen eye. "This Pearl appears to be defective." She turned to Rose. "Don't worry, we will get you another. Emerald!" she shouted. 

A green gem came from around the corner. "Yes?"

"Take this pearl away from here," Obsidian said.

Emerald looked at the pearl and Rose could see for a fleeting moment the pity in her eyes. But then it was gone. "Yes." She walked up to the pearl, who was frozen. Rose could see the fear in her eye. Every gem knew what happened to defects. There was simply no room for them. There were always more. Rose knew this. Emerald and Obsidian knew this. The pearl knew this. It was common knowledge, and Rose shouldn't have been affected by this.

However, for some reason, this pearl was different from the stoic, obedient ones she had always seen. This one was interesting. It touched her in someway.

Just as Emerald began carrying the pearl away, Rose called out. "Wait!" she said. "This one will do."

Obsidian's eyebrows shot up. "Rose, are you sure? We can get you a new one. One who isn't defective."

Rose shook her head. One of her many qualities was compassion, but she was also strong-willed. "This one will do."

Obsidian stared at Rose, perhaps trying to determine if the gem was just joking. Upon seeing the seriousness in her eyes, Obsidian turned to Emerald, who immediately released the pearl.

Pearl looked around with wide eyes, and Obsidian gestured her over. The pearl cautiously walked over to the both of them, and stood silently, not even blinking. It was crystal clear to her that her life was in the hands of these gems, and she did NOT want to make them mad.

"Pearl, you are hereby assigned to Rose Quartz. You are to serve her under the law of the great Diamond Authority. I now transfer my control to her. May you serve her for as long as either of you shall live," Obsidian said.

Pearl looked to her new master, and walked to her side. Rose looked down at the pearl, and then to Obsidian, who was watching them intently. Emerald looked them all, and then slowly backed over the now awkward room.

Obsidian cleared her throat. "Well, I assume you have work to do. I'll let you get back to it," she leaned in conspiratorially and whispered in Rose's ear, "let me know if you encounter any...problems with the pearl," she said, her gaze settling on the pearl in question.

Rose nodded and then looked at her new pearl. She couldn't believe that she had one. Because she wasn't a Diamond, there was no ceremony, but she had risen in ranks nonetheless, and that was certainly something in itself. "Let us take our leave," she told the pearl. 

Pearl nodded and followed her master out, glad to be out of that room with others just like her. It was kind of terrifying, seeing your possible replacements. Pearl shivered at the thought of it.

Rose led Pearl to a small quarter that was attached to hers. Most pearls had one. When they weren't by their master's side (which was pretty rare) they were either doing an errand for them, or in their "room," which didn't consist of much. Gems didn't need to sleep and temperature really didn't have that much of an affect on them, so there was a chair, a harp and a small bed, just in case of injury. There were no windows, and barely any light. The room was pretty dingy, and Rose felt a hint of sympathy for the gem behind her.

Pearl gazed into her room, and scrunched her face up at how dark and dirty it was, but then she remembered her place and wiped the look from her face. 

Rose didn't know what it was, but she really did have an immediate liking to this pearl. She was different from the others, and yes, that was very dangerous for a gem of her position (really any position), but she was more real in a way.

"Don't worry too much about this room. You won't be in here often, and we are leaving soon anyways.

A question highlighted the pearl's face, but she said nothing. 

Rose knew she wouldn't ask. Pearls were meant to mind there own business, and were not allowed to speak unless spoken to, unless it was a big emergency, so Rose decided to answer the unspoken question. She looked to make sure no one was listening in. "You need to promise you'll keep this a secret, or it'll be the end of both of us got it? Pink Diamond doesn't want this getting out yet."

Pearl nodded, the only sign she showed was the shaking in her hands from the tone of Rose's voice.

"We have a mission to go to Earth, and to check out the resources there. Pink Diamond would like to start a new Kindergarten, but the others aren't on board with the whole idea yet. So you and I will be leaving in a few days."

Pearl nodded again, wondering about this...Earth."

Time passed. Rose did her job, and Pearl typically stayed out of the way. She knew because of her defect that she was on thin ice, so she tried her best not to make anyone angry. Eventually, it was time for Rose to travel to Earth as per Pink Diamond's command.

They boarded the ship, and a Peridot, a new experimental gem (there weren't many of them, just a few prototypes) was assigned to them as the pilot.She said nothing as Rose and Pearl boarded the ship (there were no available warps to Earth yet, that was also a part of Rose's duty during her mission). Pearl said nothing as she boarded, but looked around at the great metal thing. Rose looked too. She had flown in a few ships before on a mission to other planets, but Homeworld ships tended to change and became more advanced in only a short amount of time. This ship was shaped like an oval on the outside, instead of the usual circle, and it had a slight green tinge to it. The inside had the same tinge. In the front of the ship was the control bridge, and the rest consisted of a small holding area for prisoners of war, and an even smaller lab. The seating area was wide open though, and this is where Rose sat, looking out the window. Pearl stood next to her silently like any other pearl, and it made Rose a bit uneasy. Her pearl never talked, and Rose knew Pearl was unlike the others, but she tried so hard to fit in, and Rose wondered why.

The ship took off and the peridot announced that they should be arriving in few cycles.

"Thank you," Rose said, looking out the window. She wondered what Earth looked like. She knew it was a planet that appeared to be rich in resources, and it was covered in mostly water, with some patches of land. She would be the first gem to step foot on Earth, and a tingle went down her spine. She would definitely be making history. She wondered what her pearl was thinking. Her pearl. The phrase was still strange on her tongue. The pearl stood obediently by her side, silent as can be. Every now and again though, her eyes would dart around the ship nervously, and her posture was very tense. Rose could tell she was nervous, but she wasn't sure what about.

Some time passed and Rose was getting sick of the silence. On Homeworld, there was never silence. There was always talking and yelling, and the sound of marching soldiers. In the ship however, it was completely silent. The peridot only said how much longer, and Pearl said nothing at all. The only sound that could be heard was the soft hum of the engine. Rose half-groaned and half-sighed. "Will somebody please say something!" she demanded.

The peridot kept her eyes focused on the controls and didn't even acknowledge Rose. The pearl however, jumped at the tenseness in Rose's voice, but she said nothing. What was she supposed to say anyway?

Rose looked at the pearl. "Would you please say something? Your silence has disturbed me." There was no sugar-coating it.

Pearl looked at the ground in shame, and Rose knew from seeing other pearls do the same that she thought she had let her down. "What would you like me to say my liege?" she said softly.

Rose took pity immediately (something about being away from Homeworld and its principles was changing her like it always did - but it was even more so now that she was practically alone) and reached for the pearl, holding her chin up delicately. "You don't have to be timid around me," she said. "I know you aren't like the other pearls, and we aren't on Homeworld, so stop trying to act like it. Just be yourself," she whispered, hoping the peridot wouldn't hear, and report her. "Oh, and please, call me Rose," Rose added, voice no longer a whisper. The whole "liege" thing kind of freaked Rose out. She was a guard, and she liked it, but she didn't like others thinking she was higher up than they were (even though she was) and she hated thinking it about herself.

Pearl blushed and stammered an incoherent response. She cleared her throat and tried again. "What would you like to say my lie-R-Rose," the name instead of a title feeling funny on the pearls tongue.

Rose nodded. "Anything you want to. Talk about you, your interests, anything to banish the quiet."

Pearl looked at Rose as if she had lost her mind. Perhaps she had. After all, it was a bit strange for Rose to be asking a pearl of all gems to do this, but Rose didn't mind. She patiently waited for the gem to continue.

Pearl took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "Umm, I-I don't know much, bu-but you are much different than previous leaders?" 

It ended in a question, which Rose didn't really like, but she knew that her attitude toward the pearl was confusing for her, especially because from the moment they come into existence, pearls are told they are a bane to the existence of Homeworld and gemkind, and that they are simply around to serve their masters. Rose knew this, and so did pretty much everyone else, but..."what do you mean, different?"

Pearl nervously wrung her hands. "Welll uh... from the moment we are...created, we are told that we are not special, that we are not a gift to gemkind, and that we can be easily replaced. We all have to go threw a certain "training" before we are given off. They test us for obedience, accuracy, handiness, and loyalty."

Rose hadn't known about that. "And what happened during these trainings?"

Pearl sighed, "well, we went through trials and stages, and if we did something wrong, they would umm, punish us..."

Rose jumped out of her chair. She didn't care what the peridot heard now. She cared about this pearl. She didn't know why, but she did. She stood in front of Pearl, who shrank back in fear. Rose gently laid a hand on the pearl, and could feel the tremors running through the Gem's body. "It's just us," Rose said soflty. Pearl looked over at the peridot, only for Rose to gently grab her chin and pull it back so they were eye level. "Don't worry about her. What else happened if you failed?"

Pearl swallowed hard. "They...they would...they would repurpose us. We had four chances, one for each of the things they trained us for. Many were disposed of. I was one of the more fortunate ones. I managed to avoid the rath of our superiors, for the most part." But Pearl's clenched hands spoke volumes, and she was looking anywhere but at Rose, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. She could still remember the heat from the distabilizer, and the pain from being kicked repeatedly. "Can...can we talk about something else please?" She gasped when two warm arms wrapped around her small frame.

"I am so sorry," Rose whispered into her ear.

Pearl sniffled. She wouldn't cry. Not in front of her master. She had to show that she was strong. But Rose's embrace was strong, and warm, and for a moment, Pearl could pretend that someone actually cared about her. She slowly counted to five, before backing away. "You-you shouldn't do that," Pearl said sadly, "I'm just a Pearl. I don't deserve that."

Rose looked at her sadly. "I may be the bodyguard of Pink Diamond, but I believe that you deserve your own form of happiness," she grabbed Pearl's hands and folded them together with hers. "I can tell that you are so different from the others, and you will make a difference in your own special way. And I want you to know that you are safe here with me. I won't repeat anything that is said between us, as long as you swear to do the same."

Pearl nodded, and Rose drew away to go sit back down. Pearl could still feel the warmth in her hands, and she found some part of her longing for that again.

The rest of the trip was very quiet. Pearl stood quietly, desperately trying not to look at Rose, watching planets and stars and space go by instead, while Rose typed something into her touch pad. 

The peridot informed them that they will arrive into earth's atmosphere shortly, and Rose thanked her. Then she wondered more about the gem piloting the ship. Could she be trusted? Or would she report them the moment she got the chance? Rose wasn't so sure, and from the looks of it, Pearl was worried about the same thing.

Rose walked up to the front of the ship and looked down at the peridot. Her eyes were flashing codes as she controlled the steering mechanism. The gem in question was light green, with a yellowish tinted visor over her eyes, and short yellow hair. Rose could see no ears on the gem though, which confirmed Rose's mounting suspicion that the peridot couldn't hear. She didn't know if that was better or worse somehow. And for Homeworld to just not give the rest of the coding needed to complete the Gem's appearance, and make things much harder for her made Rose a bit angry. Normally, she began to miss Homeworld and its routine on trips like this, but right now, she was glad she was far from it, on her way to another planet with no gems or Diamonds. 

Rose had no idea how much time had passed, but they finally reached it. Rose gasped at the sight of the blues and greens, and motioned for Pearl to join her. 

The gem cautiously walked up to the front and peeked at what Rose was talking about. She looked at Rose with wide eyes, and then back out the window. The view was mesmerizing.

The planet was round, with a white tinge around it. The planet itself was a very pretty blue, like a Lazuli, with green splotches on it.

Rose didn't know what had come over her, but she was excited with the thrill of exploring a new place, and in her state, she grabbed Pearls hand and held it tight. Pearl looked down, surprised, and blushed, but it didn't even phase Rose (maybe later she might have questioned her actions, but at this moment, her mind was on other things). "Are you ready Pearl?" Rose asked with a giant smile.

Pearl took a deep breath as they entered the atmosphere and rocketed toward the Earth. "As ready as I'll ever be," she said, but she had a good feeling that things would be a bit different with Rose, and maybe, just maybe, Pearl wouldn't be so alone anymore.

 

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More notes: Still not our great and lovable peridot. I am playing around with the idea that Homeworld started developing these "prototype" gems that didn't really have magical capabilities in the hopes of replacing the pearls, or at the very least, having more "useful" gems. Ugh Homeworld, I hate it...also, this is all just based on what I wanted to have happened and information i have received by watching the show, which doesn't really mean any is actually true. Remember, there are more parts to this, but there will probably be other random stories in between them. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3~Pearl the Babysitter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl offers to babysit Steven while Garnet and Amethyst go on a mission involving a certain fusion...Pearl tries her best, but Steven just will not stop crying. What could she possibly be doing wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to write this short drabble. I kept thinking back to Gem Hunt, when Pearl kept telling Connie and Steven they needed to eat to sustain themselves, and it made me wonder why she kept reminding them to do so, even though Connie and Steven both already know they have to eat to live. This is the product of that thinking...Enjoy!

Steven would not stop crying. Greg had dropped him off earlier saying that he would be back, he just had to go out and get something for the car wash, but it was too far away for Steven to go too.

Pearl had tried everything (as far as she knew), and was very close to ripping the hair from her head. "Baby, please, please be quiet," she begged, rocking the six month old in her arms.

She was the only one home at the moment. Garnet and Amethyst had a mission that involved the two of them fusing. Pearl shivered. She hated Sugilite. The fusion was overzealous and almost too powerful. All she cared about was chaos and power. 

So Pearl was the first to volunteer when Greg asked for a babysitter, but now a part of her was regretting it. She wanted to do right by Steven, and to an extent, Rose (even though she now knew the chances of Rose coming back were slim, for a while she would hold hope that Rose could see her through some part of Steven, and could even communicate with Pearl. Pearl only wanted to make Rose happy, and to do that, she had to make sure Steven was happy, which he wasn't at that moment). 

She gently rocked Steven, and hummed an old song that she had long forgotten the lyrics to.

Steven made little whimpering noises and put his hands on his belly, and Pearl's eyes widened. She remembered what Greg had told them happened last month with his gem, and she made quick work of unbuttoning his clothes.

She sat on the couch, with him in her lap. "There you go. Is that better?"

Steven looked at Pearl with wide, watery eyes, and for a second, he stopped. But then he patted his stomach again, and started crying.

Pearl was startled, so sure that that was what was making him upset. She checked his diaper, took his temperature (Greg had mentioned babies getting colds, especially in the winter because their..."immune system" wasn't as strong - whatever that was), and even changed his clothes.

Pearl read somewhere that babies just get cranky sometimes and you need to distract them, or put them down for a nap. Pearl had tried the nap part, but Steven kicked off all of his blankets, tears streaming down his face, so Pearl decided to distract him. 

"Gootchie goo," she cooed, gently tickling the child and attempting to make silly faces like she had seen Amethyst do countless times. She wished Amethyst was here now. Garnet too. They were much better at this than she was.

Steven swatted at her hands, and kicked his feet angrily. Pearl was completely out of ideas.

She picked Steven up and looked into his eyes. "I'm still just a Pearl," she sighed bitterly, collapsing onto the couch. "I can't do anything right. All...I want...to do...is protect you. I want to make you happy. For Rose," she sniffled. "But I can't even do that." She could see the tears streaming down her face in the child's small eyes, and she could feel them, but she was alone and didn't bother to wipe them away. "Why Rose?" she asked, voice cracking. "Why did you have to go? Surely you could have still had Steven and remained as well...there-there had to have been a way." 

Pearl didn't know how long it was. She was a million miles away, lost in thought. She could no longer hear the sound of the ocean, or the crying baby in her arms. A knock sounded at the door, startling the gem and bringing her back to reality. Steven was still crying, his face a brilliant shade of red and stained with tears. She rocked him as she walked to the door and opened it. 

There stood Greg, the man that Pearl still despised (it was still way too soon in her opinion to let "bygones be bygones" or whatever it was that Garnet had said to do).

"Hey Pearl, I'm back," he greeted.

Pearl looked at him and rolled her eyes, stepping back to begrudgingly let him in.

"What's up with Steven?" Greg asked when he noticed his crying child.

Pearl was happy to hand him off. "I honestly  don't know," she admitted, "he won't stop crying."

Greg named a list of things that might be wrong and Pearl shook her head. She had done all of those things, and Steven was still crying. "Well, he might be hungry. Did you feed him?"

Pearl stared at Greg. "Feed him? With...food?"

"Uh, sorta, 'cept Steven has baby formula for now," Greg responded.

Pearl shivered. Food disgusted her. She couldn't even look at it. She didn't even think about it. How could anyone enjoy chewing somwthing until it was all mashed up, swallowing it, and digesting it? She didn't even want to think about what happened after that. The whole process nauseated her. Pearl shook her head. "No, I didn't give him food."

Greg nodded. "Well, Pearl that's probably why he was crying then. Babies have to eat in order to grow stronger and healthier. Humans in general need food in order to sustain ourselves. And Steven hasn't eaten anything since early this morning, so he is probably just hungry."

Pearl could see that Greg was looking at her a little funny, and she hastily wiped the remaining tears away as she realized why. "So you mean to tell me that this whole time the problem was that Steven was hungry?" It was that simple? But Pearl had tried so hard and still failed. She wasn't ready for this. She didn't think she would ever be.

Greg nodded sympathetically. He wasn't mad, not really. The Gems didn't know a lot about humans, but they were trying. Even Pearl. "It's okay. I'm back and I am not mad at you. I don't think Steven will be either. Don't worry about it. Now you'll know for next time," he assured her.

Pearl sniffled. Yes, next time she would make sure that Steven was fed.

She followed Greg into the kitchen and watched him prepare and warm up Steven's bottle, while she took literal notes on a notepad she had pulled from her gem. Greg made it look so easy, though he was human so that was probably part of it. By the end of the day, Pearl felt a little bit better about what to do for next time.

She looked at the sleeping Steven in his crib. "I promise you Steven, I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and make you happy," she said, blinking in surprise when a peaceful, and loving smile covered the child's face.


	4. Chapter 4~ Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the Before the Rebellion is coming soon. For now, enjoy these short stories that are still just as significant.

Rose was giggling, and Pearl was gripping her hand tightly, eyes closed.

"What are we doing? Where are you bringing me?" Pearl laughed. In all the seriousness of the war, it was nice when they could all take a break and have fun. Rose's giddiness was contagious, and Pearl's heart pounded in delight, a smile covering her face.

"Just a few more feet," Rose promised, although she had said that several times already.

Finally, Pearl could sense that Rose had stopped. 

"Open your eyes," she said softly, still gripping Pearl's hand.

Pearl did as she was asked, and gasped as she took in the scenary. She had been so caught up with Rose and the thrill and stress of war, that she hadn't really stopped to look at the planet she was protecting. 

Rose had led her to a hill overlooking a giant valley. Pearl could see a crystal blue ocean, and the red and oranges from the sunset being reflected off of it. The sun itself was huge as it slowly set behind the hill.

"Oh Rose, this is beautiful." Rose had already brought her to many beautiful places, including the sky arena, where she practiced when there were no Homeworld gems around, and no war, and the great big cherry blossom tree, with grass so soft and sweet smelling. Pearl would spend much of her free time in these places, preferably with Rose, but also alone too. This seemed to be another one of those places. Rose herself seemed to make each new place more special and beautiful.

Rose was beaming. "I just knew you would like it!" she exclaimed.

"I love it," Pearl nodded. She wanted to add, 'I love you,' but she kept the thought to herself.

Rose looked at her. "May I have this dance?"

Pearl nodded eagerly. For a Quartz, Rose was very lithe and elegant, and overall fun and joyful to be around. Dancing was one of Pearl's favorite past times, and she hoped it was quickly becoming Rose's too.

Rose wrapped an arm around Pearl's skinny waist, while her other hand grabbed onto Pearls. Pearl placed her hand in Rose's, and placed her opposite hand on Rose's arm.

The two gently started swaying to the breeze, as the sun sank low behind them. Soon, it was dark, and the stars twinkled in the night sky, but Pearl was too captivated in Rose to notice. Rose's eyes seemed to be glow with warmth and joy. Her whole being did. A playful smirk began to appear on the Quartz's lips and she increased their tempo, dipping and spinning Pearl. The two laughed in delight, neither noticing the glow emitting from their gems. 

Rose spun Pearl, and then brought her in close, and the two erupted into a bright flash of light.

Warmth and joy. 

Love.

Those were what was experienced first. Four eyes looked down at themselves, and then out at the ocean. Rainbow Quartz smiled in the night. 

For once she felt...whole.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst meets Ruby and Sapphire.

Amethyst was bouncing where she stood. 

She had been with the Crystal Gems for about a century now, but everything was still so new to her. This world beyond the gloomy Kindergarten was so bright and full of life. Recently, Amethyst had found that she could change her shape to whatever she pleased. She had quite the fascination in birds, but cats were fun too. As a bird, she could fly wherever she wanted. As a cat, she could sneak around and eat whatever she wanted (not that she didn't already do that), and if she acted cute enough, she would get belly rubs and ear scratches. Eating had to be one of her favourite things. She learned that the local humans had to eat to survive, and even if the gems didn't like it, she certainly found it to be quite enjoyable.

Rose thought that it was great that she was experimenting and trying to find herself. Pearl, though a bit annoyed with the frequent shape-shifting thought some of the forms she took were funny and even intelligent.

Amethyst really had no idea what Garnet thought. Even after being with them for about 100 years, Amethyst still had trouble reading the stoic gem who was always hidden by a pair of visors. Whenever Amethyst changed her shape, Garnet would just stand there and stare. Or at least it appeared that she was staring. Amtheyst wasn't really sure.

One day Rose had stepped off the warp pad deep in quiet conversation with Garnet. Garnet's voice was too quiet to hear, but Rose kept saying, "are you sure Garnet? You don't have to you know."

Amethyst had hopped off the rock she was perched on. Though she was technically an official Crystal Gem, she still wasn't skilled enough to go on the more dangerous missions, or even to the "secret" meetings the Gems had without her. She tried not to be bitter about it. Frankly, sitting in a room somewhere for who knew how long sounded boring anyway. She would rather sit on her rock and nap, or even go lay down on the sand and nap. But she couldn't deny that she was a little curious as to what the two were talking about. "What's happenin'?" she asked.

Rose looked up and gave her that loving smile she always did. "Nothing you need to worry about my little Amethyst. Why don't we go down to the beach, and I will help you with your shape-shifting."

"Yeah!" Amethyst exclaimed. She couldn't wait to show Rose some of the new forms she learned. The secret discussion was shoved into the back of her mind.

That was three months ago.

Now, Garnet, Pearl, and Rose Quartz stood facing Amethyst, who was a little nervous, hence the bouncing on her feet. Whenever the Gems would do this, it was to test her on fighting or her knowledge of Gem history. Amethyst hated this. She didn't think it was necessary and therefore, didn't do anything to learn more, which bothered Pearl, a lot.

"Now Amethyst-" Rose began.

"Is this a test?" Amethyst blurted out nervously.

Rose looked taken aback. "Not...really?"

Amethyst raised an eyebrow.

"It is a test of the faith, and trust, and love between all of us," Garnet answered. It was one of those seldom times Garnet said much of anything at all, and it was deep. "Amethyst, we have been hiding something from you. I have been hiding something from you," Garnet admitted.

"WHAT!" Amethyst exclaimed angrily. She was not expecting something like this, even though deep down, she knew that the gems were most likely hiding many things from her, some she may never know. "I thought we were a team! I know I'm this youngest and smallest, but you all treat me like I'm worthless," she said bitterly, tears springing to her eyes. 

The Gems looked at each other, speechless. Not even Garnet had seen that coming. Rose was the first to respond.

She stepped forward, and lowered herself to the smaller Gem's height. "Amethyst, you are perfect they way you are. We love you for who you are, and none of us would do anything to change that," she looked back at Pearl and Garnet. "Isn't that right?"

Pearl nodded and padded over, Garnet following closely behind. "Yes, you are the youngest, and yes, you are the smallest, but that is what makes you so special," Garnet said.

"And, you are getting better everyday just by experience," Pearl agreed.

"We will never think you are worthless. Don't ever feel like you're worthless," Rose concluded with a hug around the small gem, that Pearl and Garnet joined.

After a while, they pulled away.

Amethyst looked embarrassed. "Sorry if I...overreacted..."

Rose waved it off with a laugh. "But now that you are feeling better, Garnet has decided that she would like to show you something."

Amethyst looked at Garnet skeptically. The maroon Gem who barely spoke, was actually sharing something private with her?

"You don't know much about fusion yet, but you do know that it occurs when you have two or more gems that share the same values you do, someone you can trust, and a consented relationship," Garnet said.

Amethyst nodded. She knew this from her lessons with Pearl, but she wasn't quite sure where Garnet was going with this.

"Well," Garnet, taking a deep breath in.

Amethyst watched with wide eyes as there was a bright white flash, and then two stood in the place of one, their hands linked.

"What the what?" Amethyst mumbled in shock. "Was Garnet a-a fusion?"

"Is a fusion. She's not dead, she just isn't here anymore," Pearl responded.

Amethyst resisted the urge to role her eyes.

Rose had her hands clasped together in joy. "Amethyst, I would love to introduce you to Sapphire," she pointed to the blue gem, "and Ruby," she said, pointing to the red gem.

The two walked forward. "It is great to finally meet you as ourselves," the blue gem, Sapphire said. "I have forseen this moment for a while, but I wasn't sure when it would happen."

Amethyst shook her outstretched hand, a little hesistantly. Sapphire's calm voice was a tad distant, and her touch was cold. Then there was that whole, "forseen moment" thing that spooked Amethyst. What did any of that even mean? She looked up for help, but it was the ruby gem that answered.

"Sapphire has future vision. She saw this moment taking place, but her visions don't necessarily give set times and dates to future events, so we weren't really sure when this meeting would happen. Hi, I'm Ruby," Ruby said in a louder and more animated voice, holding out a warm hand for Amethyst to shake.

"Huh," Amethyst thought. "They are pretty much the opposite in every way, and yet, they fit each other perfectly."

Amethyst, excited once again, shook the red gem's hand. This was great! She didn't know that there was more Crystal Gems, and better yet, THEY WERE SMALL JUST LIKE HER! In her excitement, she even said so. "Wow, you are small just like me. I thought I was the only one."

Rose giggled, and Ruby blushed.

"Yeah?" she said, "well, being small has its advantages," she said as she tackled Amethyst playfully.

"Man, I have been waiting to do that," Ruby teased.

Amethyst had a sly grin on her face, and was quick to overtake Ruby and pin her down. What she wasn't prepared for however, was for Ruby to reach up and tickle her.

Amethyst fell to the floor once again, giggling in delight, breathless when Ruby finally stopped, putting out a hand to help the purple gem up.

Amethyst let herself be pulled up, a smile on her face.  
She knew that she was now part of something greater, something she had always wanted. Whether or not she realized it before, she definitely did now. She was part of a family, one that was there and real, and trusted her, and loved her.

Pearl watched the exchange, as delighted as Rose was at seeing the two smaller gems that made Garnet who she was, and seeing how well Amethyst interacted with them.

It appeared that Ruby and Amethyst had begun playing around once more in what looked like some strange tag game, while Sapphire stood watching them, a smile on her face.

Rose laughed. She had forgotten that even though Ruby was very protective of them, especially Sapphire, and she was a guard-like gem, she also had a playful side.

"Man this is so cool! I can't wait to show you all of my favorite places! Oh and we can shape-shift, it will be great!" Amethyst exclaimed. "We can hang out all the time too!"

All four remaining Gems gave each other solemn looks that Amethyst was quick to notice.

"What's the matter? You were all happy a minute ago," she said.

"Amethyst, Ruby and Sapphire, well..." Pearl tried, but blushed, not able to find the right words.

Rose knelt down to Amethyst's level, and grabbed her hands. "My darling little gem, I know you are excited, and we are all so glad you got to meet the wonderful gems who make up the wonderful fusion that we know and love, but Ruby and Sapphire love each other very much, and they are normally fused all of the time so they can always be together."

"That's why Garnet is always around," Ruby explained guiltily. She loved being able to play around with Amethyst and have a good time, but Garnet was something greater than both her and her partner, and Ruby wasn't about to give that up for the world.

Tears were filling Amethyst's eyes. She had just made new friends, and they were disappearing? She couldn't help but think about a dark time, long ago when someone she cared about, and didn't even really know much about, left her.

"Oh p-please don't cry," Ruby squeaked, running to give Amethyst a warm hug. Ruby normally would have settled for a pat on the back, or a high five, but she knew that Amethyst needed this more right now.

"I just met you, and you're already leaving?" Amethyst asked weakly, all of her excitment gone.

"Amethyst, we are never really gone. We are still here, even if it's Garnet you see and not directly us. And we do unfuse, just not all the time. You'll see us again though soon enough. I know you will," Sapphire told her.

Amethyst sighed. "I guess..." Sapphire had future vision, so that had to count for something right? Maybe it wouldn't be too long until they unfused again, and she could hang out with the two gems some more. She had yet to get to know Sapphire more.

Rose smiled gently, still on the ground beside the purple gem. "Perk up my dear," she said softly, with a growing smile. She knew that what she was about to say next would make Amethyst beyond excited. "Just you wait until you can fuse too."

"I can fuse?!" Amethyst asked excitedly, jumping up and down. All of her previous sadness was gone.

Rose nodded, giggling at the rowdy Gem's behavior.

"Will I be able to fuse with you?" the little Gem asked.

Rose nodded in delight.

Amethyst turned to Pearl and asked, "what about you?"

Pearl nodded. "Yes, eventually you will be able to essentially fuse with any gem."

Amethyst spun to face Ruby and Sapphire. "I can fuse with you guys too!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Sapphire chuckled as Ruby answered back just as excitedly, "and with Garnet!"

Amethyst had stars in her eyes. "This is great!" The young gem began doing a happy jig that sparked laughter from all of the others. 

Ruby grabbed Sapphire's hand while Amethyst was currently distracted, and when Amethyst had turned around to face them, she realized she was now looking up into the face of Garnet.

But instead of being sad, she gave Garnet a big smile, for she now knew of the two Gems who made Garnet who she was, and who she was was awesome, cool, funny, and loving.

She ran and gave the fusion a hug around her legs, as a thank you for sharing her secret, (she was too short to reach any higher) and allowing her to meet her components. She hadn't actually realized how much she had missed Garnet in that short time, until now.

Rose joined in, and after a while, so did Pearl. And they stayed in that giant group hug for a long time, love radiating from them all. Nothing could spoil this moment, right here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is taking place "back in the old days." I don't really have a set date so yeah lol but the visors were just for the sake of story, i know they probably didn't even know what glasses were when i planned this to take place so yeah...also, I'm back! Sorry for the hiatus, life has gotten in the way, but i was determined to write more. I have some more in the works, so sit tight. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Btw, comment below if you can't wait for stevenbomb next week. Or if you have already seen it as I know it has been leaked. I for one can't wait! #stevenuniverse


	6. Break from Storytime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a little break from "storytime" as Steven and the Gems call it a night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So every now and again, I am going to do little pauses between stories. Just to break some of them up, and I will do dynamic life for Steven and the Gems. This is mainly a "storybook" fanfic, that much is still true, but I thought it wouldn't hurt if every now and again, I posted these to take a small break for my sake and yours, so enjoy!

"Wow guys, I didn't realize how late it had gotten," Steven said, looking at the time on his phone. It was nine o'clock. He was so enraptured with the stories, that he didn't even notice that the sun had set.

The Gems had taken a small break in between their story telling, needing to catch their breath, and Steven had looked out the window and saw how dark it was.

"Oh yes, we should probably stop for the night. You need food and sleep to replenish your energy," Pearl said matter-of-factly.

Steven wanted to roll his eyes and say, "I know Pearl. I get it, I'm half human," but though he was a older now, he would never do that.

"How about pizza?" he suggested.

Amethyst whooped. "You know I'm down for any food."

Pearl shrugged. "Works for me." In the passing years, Pearl had started to like food a bit more. Most of it still disgusted her, but she could tolerate some here and there.

Garnet nodded, but said nothing else.

Steven made a call to the pizza place, while the rest of the Gems had a quiet discussion a few feet away.

"Hey, Kiki, can I order...?"

"How much more are we going to tell him?" Pearl whispered.

"Why don't we just tell him everything?" Amethyst said with her arms crossed.

"Because Amethyst, we can't just...well...ugh, Garnet?" Pearl asked, looking to the one who always seemed to know the answer.

Garnet adjusted her visor before answering. "Steven is older now. He needs to be able to completely trust us. In order for that to happen, we need to be able to tell him the things he wants to know. It doesn't have to be everything, but Steven can handle it. He has grown up so much. So for the time being, we answer Steven's questions to the best of our abilities, and we tell him what we can."

Amethyst nodded and stuck her tongue out at Pearl, who rolled her eyes. "If you think that's best Garnet," Pearl whispered.

"Okay, thank you Kiki. See ya soon," Steven said as he hung up.

The Gems turned around to face Steven, who was watching them with a curious expression on his face. "Kiki said I'm lucky I called when I did. They were closing in a half hour, and they lowered the price of their pizzas...is everything okay?" he asked. Somehow, Steven had the uncanny ability to read a person, as if he were somehow, looking through them.

Pearl nodded. "Oh yes, everything is fine."

Steven raised an eyebrow at that. Everything didn't sound fine to him.

"We have decided to tell you most of whatever you would like to know," Garnet told him.

"Oh," Steven smiled again. "Cool!"

About a half hour later, the doorbell rang. 

"I'll get it," Steven said, running to the door.

The Gems watched in admiration. Steven may have been 16 now, but he still acted the way he did two years ago. Though, he had grown a bit taller, and his voice was a little deeper, his personality still mirrored that of his 14 year old self, none of which took away from his kindness or wisdom, or love.

"Thank you, have a nice night," Steven said as he closed the door. The smell of pizza wafted throughout the room, and Steven set it on the small coffee table.

"Let's dig in!" Amethyst shouted.

Pearl winced. She may have been getting better with the whole food thing, but watching Amethyst eat was the most uncomfortable thing by far.

Both Steven and Amethyst grabbed a slice and placed themselves back on the couch. 

"So, what's the next story gonna be about?" Steven asked around a mouthful of food.

The gems looked at each other. 

"Uh-umm, well, what would...you um...see the thing is..." Pearl stuttered.

"What Pearl is trying to say it that there are still some things we cannot tell you about, and you are going to have to trust us on that. However, we said that we will try to tell you whatever we feel you deserve to know," Garnet answered.

Pearl nodded, even though it looked as if she wanted to say more and just didn't know how. Surprisingly, it was Amethyst who jumped in to help.

"But tonight Steven, it's getting pretty late, and you should probably go to bed."

Steven looked at the others and they nodded. One thing hadn't changed. Steven might have been older now, but the gems still told him when he should go to bed, and for the most part, he listened.

"Aww man," Steven said with a yawn. "But I'm not even that tired." However a second later, Steven yawned again. "Okay, so maybe I am a little tired." He made to get up and put the pizza away, yawning some more as he did so. "Huh, I guess those stories took some energy out of me."

"We'll see you in the morning," Pearl smiled.

"Nighty-night," Garnet said, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"Later dude," Amethyst grinned, patting him on the back.

Steven smiled as he climbed to his loft room.

He watched as the gems left for their respectable rooms in the Temple, and then grabbed markers and some paper from the stash in his drawer.

For the next three hours, Steven wrote down as much as he could about what he had heard from the Gems. They were special to him, and he was honored that they were finally telling him things about their past. He didn't want to forget. He made sure to hide each story where no one but him would ever find them.

Then, he settled himself into bed, with the resolve to visit Lapis and Peridot the next day to get their stories. After all, it was fair to get both sides' stories, and since he was on Earth and Peridot (and even Lapis at one time) used to be their Homeworld enemies, they would have a different take on things, especially before coming here.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven takes a trip to the barn to listen to Peridot's and Lapis' experiences, and their sides of the story on coming to Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post this chapter because it is finished, and I wanted to give you guys something so that you wouldn't lose interest. I am working on Peridot's story of her assignment to Earth, I am not really sure if I am going to continue with her once I finish her first story and possibly Lapis' (if she feels like cooperating :,')) or go back to the others, which is why I am not quite done with the next chapter. I want it to be perfect for you guys lol. But here is the "first" part of it. Enjoy!

Steven woke bright and early the next morning, even though he had gone to bed considerably late at night/early in the morning.

He ran to the kitchen for a quick breakfast, and noticed a note on the counter that said, "Gem mission. Be gone all day. Garnet."

Steven simply nodded. That was fine for him since he had other plans as well. He hurriedly ate, got dressed, and brushed his teeth before running out the door and to the bottom of the hill. Thankfully, Lion was already there, napping in the morning sun. Steven knelt down and gave the pink feline a scratch behind the ears.

Lion cracked his eyes open at the contact, looking at Steven with an irritated expression.

"Hey buddy," Steven said, "I know you were taking a nap, but I need you to bring me somewhere."

Lion grumbled a bit, before closing his eyes and rolling over.

Steven groaned. Lion was still the most stubborn creature he had ever met, and no amount of training seemed to change that.

"Aw come one, wake up. I know you can hear me," Steven grumbled as he tried to roll the large cat over. "Lion, please, get...UP!"

Lion growled, but got up all the same.

"Thanks Lion," Steven said, as he climbed onto his back. 

Lion stood and waited for directions. "To Peridot and Lapis!" the boy said. 

He could have very well taken the warp pad, but he had had quite a few close calls using it in the last few years, and he honestly didn't feel too safe using it alone anymore. So Lion it was. 

Lion nodded and took off toward the water. This was the opposite direction of the barn, but Steven knew better than to question Lion's process. The pink cat roared, its eyes glowing as it created a portal over the water, before running through it.

Less than ten seconds later, Lion skidded to a halt on the green grass. They had arrived.

Steven smiled, and scratched Lion behind the ears. "Thanks buddy," he said climbing off.

He made his way to the barn, where sure enough, both Peridot and Lapis were out making more artwork. They had actually gotten really good in the last few years, and Steven tried to convince them to even sell some of their work at one point, but they refused. They didn't need any of the money. Steven completely understood this. It was still cool to see the amazing pieces the two came up with nonetheless.

"Hey guys," Steven greeted as he got closer.

Lapis looked up first, and smiled when she saw that it was him. "Steven!" she greeted, flying over to him.

Peridot put down the saw she was holding and looked around for Lapis. When she noticed Steven, she jumped off of the stool she was standing on and ran over. "Steeevenn," she shouted, giving him a hug.

"Hey Peri," Steven said returning the hug. "What are you guys making? It looks super cool!"

Lapis grinned at the praise and turned to look at Peridot and say, "I'll let her explain.

Peridot backed up and jumped into information mode. "We are creating the best morp anyone has ever seen. One day, I was thinking; you Gems have a giant statue over your house, and so I thought, why don't we?"

Steven looked in wonder at the art. It was indeed a statue. But there was one small problem..."but, you guys do know that the statue above my house and the Temple is a fusion of the original gems that lived there right?

Peridot nodded, not seeing anything wrong with this.

"So, are you two gonna make it a fusion of both of you or...?"

"Oh," Peridot said, finally understanding.

Peridot still has never fused before, and Lapis refused to fuse ever since a certain time... She said she could take care of herself without another mind crowding hers.

"Maybe we should take a break..." Lapis said, expression unsure as she looked at their statue.

Peridot nodded sadly. She was so excited to make this and she wanted to make it like the Temple one, but in her excitement, she forgot that it was a fusion of the gems there.

Steven noticed this and felt really guilty. "Oh, I'm sorry you guys. I didn't mean to make you upset."

Lapis gave him a small smile. "It's okay Steven. Now we know. So did you come here just to say hi, or hang out?"

"Um well actually, the Gems have began telling me stories of their past, and I was wondering if you guys could tell me some things about your past? After all, you guys were more recently from Homeworld, and it is only fair that I get stories from you as well."

Peridot perked up, always eager to share information. Lapis was still a little hesitant. She believed that some things were best left untold.

"Let's go to the barn. I will tell you my story there," Peridot said excitedly, leading the way.

Lapis however, wasn't as excited, as Steven realized upon turning around.

"You coming Lapis?" Steven asked, concern lacing his voice.

Lapis looked up from the ground. "O-oh, umm I'll stop by later. I kind of want to finish something else I've been working on," she said, looking toward a different project on the ground near the "fusion" statue.

Steven could tell that something else was bothering her, but he decided not to press her for details. Lapis was the type to tell you what she wanted, when she wanted, and Steven respected and acknowledged this. "Okay, see you," he said, running to catch up with Peridot, only to see that she was talking as if he had been near her the whole time.

"...and that was when I realized, it was just a squirrel!"

Steven was beyond confused but nodded all the same. "That was quite the story Peridot," he said.

"Oh...I know," Peridot chuckled lightly as they arrived at the barn.

The barn always held something new in it everytime Steven visited. Lapis and Peridot were constantly busy crafting or even just watching Camp Pining Hearts, but it kept them occupied and gave them a sense of purpose, and for once, they could actually take pride in their work and make whatever they wanted, not just what someone else wanted them to make. 

This visit, the barn had what appeared to be a pen holding all sorts of wildlife animals, like deer, and rabbits. The animals were more or less relaxed as they lay on the bedding the two gems provided for them.

"Umm what...?" Steven asked, wondering how they even managed to round up all of those animals.

Peridot saw where he was looking. "Oh, we saw those creatures many times, enjoying the foods from our garden, and sometimes on Camp Pining Hearts, so we decided to catch a few of them and study them." Upon seeing the startled look on Steven's face she added, "of course after that, we'll let them go."

Steven was about to add to this when a familiar yipping caught his attention. He turned toward the sound to see the pumpkin dog curled up on Lapis' "bed," although now, it was happily wagging its tail (Steven made sure to explain the whole misunderstanding with the pumpkin to the live one a long time ago, and they both seemed to be on good terms now).

"Pumpkin!" Steven greeted cheerfully.

The pumpkin dog yipped once more as it came running over to Steven, who bent down and pet its head. "How are you doing?"

The pumpkin dog yipped once more and began running circles around the young gem, who laughed.

Peridot also chuckled. "You wouldn't believe the shenanigans our little Veggie Head has gotten into recently, but that story is for another time I suppose."

Steven nodded. "So where do you wanna go to do this?"

Peridot looked around, contemplating. "Hmmm," she hummed, before pointing to the loft. "How about up there?"

Steven shrugged and smiled. "Sure."

Peridot climbed up the ladder with ease after doing so very often. Steven wasn't as fast as Peridot when it came to climbing the thing, so he took his time. 

Peridot sat, dangling her feet over the edge, freely swinging them back and forth. She patted the spot next to her, prompting Steven to sit and do the same thing.

"Okay Peridot, whenever your ready. I wanna hear about your life on Homeworld, and how you got assigned to the progress of the Cluster. And of course anything else you want to tell me," Steven quickly added.

Peridot nodded. "Alright, I will tell you what you wish to know. It all started when..."


	8. Peridot's Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is Peridot's story. We now know her as the Great and Lovable Peridot, but what about before? Peridot had a mission, and this is her side of when she was on Homeworld. This is Part 1 of 2.

Peridots were, essentially, created to replace Pearls (although, there were still a few, such as the Diamonds' Pearls, and a few others). 

During the rebellion, rumors of the Terrifying Renegade Pearl were shared all over Homeworld, no matter what superiors did to cover up said rumors. The gems began to grow weary and suspicious of all pearls, as surely if one rebelled than others would try as well. Gem leaders couldn't take that chance. Pearls were shattered for any small misdemeanor. The Diamonds' Pearls were especially on thin ice until long after the war ended, and even still, all pearls were carefully watched over.

Gem researchers began experimenting, trying to find a substitute to their "pearl problem."

Halfway through the rebellion, the problem was solved. Or so many thought. The first peridots arrived a century before the rebellion took place, although they were just prototypes. The real Peridots arrived when the Homeworld Gems needed them most, but their creators made sure to strip them of all magic and/or powers, lest they decided to go rogue like the Pearl.

Instead, peridots were given limb enhancers, a screen, and the job of a technician. They kept information for generals, and informed them of information about the earth and their enemies. Peridots were the perfect substitute. Loyal, handy, and very cheap to process and distribute.

Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG was an Era 2 Peridot, a newer version created after the end of the war. This one was gifted to Yellow Diamond, among other gifts, in her success (and failure, though everyone knew better than to mention it) of the demise of those on earth. Yellow Diamond already had several other peridots, although some of them had been shattered during the rebellion, so she accepted this one and added it to her "collection."

This Peridot was as loyal as they came, hanging onto Yellow Diamond's every word, wanting to please her as much as any other gem did. 

However, Yellow Diamond saw some promise in this particular gem, based on her significant knowledge, and succes with other tasks, so she decided to assign her a task of her own. The task was small, but held great importance. Of course, being one of the Diamonds, Yellow was far too busy to talk with the likes of a Peridot, so she sent an Onyx to do so.

Peridot paced the hall, albeit a little nervously, wondering what exactly she was needed for. She had been given a message on her tablet earlier, telling her to report to conference room 1B72 immediately. Peridot had dropped everything and all but ran to the room. After all, you didn't keep a superior waiting. You waited for them. 

She hummed in thought, listening to the sound her metallic limb enchancers made with their contact of the ground. After what seemed like light years, Peridot was called into the conference room.

She walked in, back straight, eyes forward as was protocol.

"Take a seat Peridot," the Onyx said.

Peridot slowly sat in the chair provided, facing the superior gem.

"Yellow Diamond has given you an important task," she typed something into the screen in front of her, before turning it to face Peridot. "This," she said pointing, "is feedback from a Red Eye. We sent it to a planet called Earth recently. Do you recall Earth?"

Of course she had. All gems were aware of its existence. It was one of the main reasons for the Gem War.

"Earth belonged to Pink Diamond. It's purpose was to supply Homeworld with more soldiers via the Kindergartens, which were successful because of Earth's resources. Earth continues to flourish, and has been left alone for millenia," Peridot said. After all, she might not have been around for all that, but she read the reports. She was a Peridot. Of course she did her research.

"Until now," Onyx said, cold voice sounding more excited now. "We believe we have found a way to get some use out of that planet after all. We implanted an experiment in the Earth's crust long ago, and it has been incubating there this whole time. When said experiment emerges, it will rip up the Earth, and make things much easier for us to take control once again."

"But, what happened with the Red Eye?" Peridot asked.

Onxy gave her an icy glare.

Peridot winced. It was not her place to speak first, and Onyx's were known for their temper.

"I. Was. Getting. To. That," the Onyx said through clenched teeth, before taking a calming breath. "The Red Eye was sent to Earth, but before it could land, it was somehow destroyed. You see, the purpose of sending the machine to Earth, was to scan for the Cluster," at Peridot's confused look, she elaborated. "The Cluster is the name researchers have come up with for the experiment in the Earth's crust. It should be emerging soon. The Red Eye was supposed to give us an answer on when, and how well it was developing. 

"However, there is hesitation in sending another one. Red Eyes take a lot of resources, and are not cheap, and we aren't too keen on sending another one. 

"This is where you come in. Since you are a technician, you should have no problem. In the Alpha kindergarten, there is a control room deep in the ground, that hasn't been run since the end of the rebellion. Your job is to go to Earth, start up the control room, and check on the progress of the Cluster. It is a simple go in and come out job but you will be rewarded heavily for your success," Onyx explained. "To reach Earth, you must fix the GalaxyWarp. It has been broken for millenia, but we believe we have found a way to fix it. It will be your job to ensure that it is fixed, and you will test it out. Failure is not an option on either of these tasks. You do not have a deadline, but you must finish as soon as possible. Do you understand?"

Peridot nodded.

"Good," Onyx said. "You will receive more information in the coming weeks on your duty, and on the planet, and you will receive anything else you need to aid you on the mission. That will be all."

Peridot nodded once more, and exited. She walked down the hall to the technician quarters, tapping on her screen the whole time. Already she was looking  up more reports about this earth, something had to help her succeed. She was so into her work, that she didn't even see when she ran into a trio of Topaz's.

"Watch it-" she began in a nasally voice, not even bothering to look up from her work, when she was kicked in the metallic shin. It didn't hurt, but it startled her. She looked up at the angry group.

Topaz's were generally speaking, bigger gems, no where near as big as a Jasper or Amethyst, but they were definitely bigger than Peridot. Easily angered too. They head of the group was an aqua color, and seemed to be the leader. 

"Watch it runt," she snarled. "These are our halls." Her friends snickered behind her.

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Technically, no, it isn't. This is the technicians' hall. So actually, you appear to be in the wrong hall. Now if you will move out of the way, I have work to do." She continued on her way, or tried to. She didn't get very far before the leader had her pinned against the wall, knocking out the screen on her limb enhancer and making it go black. "Hey, that was important!" she snapped.

"Listen runt, I don't know who you think you're talking to, but no one talks to us like that," Topaz snarled. "Mind your superiors. Or next time, you and I are going to have some serious problems."

The others grumbled in agreement, before continuing down the hall.

Peridot let out an angry sigh. She had several things she wanted to say to those overbearing Topaz's right now, none of which were very kind or would work in her favor. She rolled her eyes and went to her chambers, where she wasted precious time fixing her screen. Those Topaz's might have just pushed her into a wall, but they managed to do some damage to her screen. Luckily, Peridot got it fixed, so there was no need of any kind to inform a superior for her incompetence.

Now that the screen was fixed, Peridot had some work to do.

***

A few days later, intel arrived just as Onyx had promised. 

Peridot read it several times, inputting everything into her screen. "Aha, perfect. This will be easy," Peridot grinned. "I will set off to the lab tomorrow and construct myself some robonoids to fix the Galaxy Warp."

The next day, Peridot found herself surrounded by parts and pieces. There was an instruction manual on how to build all kinds of robonoids, but Peridot was a technician. She could build these things and more with her eyes closed. She gathered what she would need and began making the bots. 

Robonoids were one of the newer inventions on Homeworld, mostly created by the Peridots. Ever since the rebellion, Homeworld had been low on Bismuths and Lapis Lazulis, and they hadn't had the proper resources to create more. Robonoids became the new means of fixing structures that needed repair, without wasting many resources, or time. They were quickly becoming essential, as many things in Homeworld were ancient and some of the older things were falling apart.

Peridot created seventy nine flask robonoids in all, more than confident that that was all it would take to fix the Galaxy Warp.  
_____________________________________________

"Although, clearly, it didn't matter," Peridot said. "Which is why I had to change tactics."

Steven nodded, remembering when they had first met Peridot. Well, not really meeting since they didn't introduce themselves to her until the whole thing at the Prime Kindergarten. She was tall, and cold, and she had destroyed all of her robonoids, which at the time, Steven thought of as her little babies. Steven and the gems were fearful of her, especially as she shot larger robonoids at Earth, and they began to hear more and more of her. 

"If I had seen the Gakaxy Warp with a bunch of...things on it, fixing it, I would have done something from my mirror," a voice said.

Steven jumped, and then saw that Lapis had flown up at some point during Peridot's story. "Hey Lapis," he greeted.

"Did you come to hear me as well, even though you already my story?" Peridot asked, happy to have a bigger audience now.

"Wait, so you already know Peridot's story?" Steven asked.

Lapis shrugged and nodded. "She told me all about her special mission on the ship, and we live together now, so it's really no surprise."

Steven thought that made sense. Peridot liked to share what she knew with others, and she liked to talk, so yeah, obviously she would tell someone her story. "Oh, cool."

"So, shall I continue?" Peridot asked.

Steven nodded. "Yes please."

"Okay, so..."  
_____________________________________________

Peridot began shooting off her robonoids one by one to earth, after programming them to find the Galaxy Warp and fix it. After the war, there were still warp pads that were never destroyed. Peridot had no idea what shape they would be in, but the robonoids would fix them in the process, making travel so much easier.

Since the robonoids were not organic, or made of light, they traveled to Earth in a quarter of the time it would take anything else.

Data was streaming into her screen on the travel of her robonoids. Peridot made sure every robonoid was doing its job and that none had strayed from its mission.

The data on her screen informed her that the robonoids were getting closer to the Galaxy Warp. Peridot traveled there so that she could try it for herself first. Partly because it was her job as the technician to make sure the warps were working before another gem did and got lost, and partly because she felt that she deserved it. She was the one who fixed the warp after all.

On her way to the Warp on Homeworld, she noticed that one of her robonoids had gone astray, which was upsetting because they were so close, and appeared to be doing so well. She tapped a few buttons, hoping to get it back on track. Finally, it appeared to be heading toward a warp that would lead it to its final destination.

Peridot quickly warped and almost ran to the main Warp to be there in time. She made it, just as her screen   
beeped, informing her everything was ready.

Peridot hopped onto the pad, a little anxious to see if it would actually work. Then she got wondering what she might see. Were there enemies waiting to attack her? Peridot frowned. "Of course not you clod, there is nothing but a bunch of humans," she thought to herself. However, a small part of her was still nervous. After all, something had managed to destroyed the Red Eye, and she knew no human would have been able to destroy it (unless her information on Earth was wrong and human tools were less primitive than she thought, which she highly doubted).

When the light went up and around her though, she had no way of turning back. Just as soon as it had appeared, it disappeared. Peridot opened her eyes (she hadn't realized that she closed them) and looked around. There was a lot of minerals and shiny rocks surrounding the area that Peridot decided to check later now that she could come to earth easily. She couldn't wait to tell the others. She would most likely get rewarded just for this. There were other warps too, though they were clearly broken as well. Peridot shook her head. She would have to come back and fix those.  Peridot stomped on the warp. It seemed solid, and it got her here in one piece. It appeared that she was successful. "Hmm," she hummed looking at the ancient warp pad. Everything seemed fine. Time to make a report.

Peridot opened her screen, clicked a button and began speaking "Log date 3 1 2. This is Peridot, performing Earth hub maintenance check," she barely noticed the robonoid sitting on her shoulder, "warp repair a success. All 79 flask robonoids deployed and accounted for. Preparing to locate and manually reactivate Kindergar—" she paused with a gasp, as one of the robonoids startled her by trying to climb up her leg. It didn't get very far before it fell off again. Clearly one of them didn't make it. Peridot, now annoyed that her report had wrong information in it, walked up to the damaged robonoid, and pushed down on it with her gravity connector (foot) until it popped. 

"Now," Peridot continued, "to access the domestic warp." She walked down the steps, when something peculiar caught her eye. Something that should not have been there. She bent down to inspect it more carefully. "Huh?" she wondered, picking up the imposing item. She had never seen it before. And what was the material? She looked around, suddenly fearful. The Galaxy Warp might have been no longer safe, and if that was the case, she wasn't sticking around. She was a technician not a soldier. "This site may have been compromised," she whispered to herself, vaguely still aware that her screen was recording everything she said as a report. She quickly got back onto the Homeworld Warp and took out her destruction stone. She clicked it, and placed it on the warp, then she warped back to Homeworld to share her findings. The stone would wipe out the flask robonoids, and no one or nothing would be able to trace her. Thank the stars for Homeworld Gem tech.

***

When Peridot got back, the first thing she did was talk to her manager, the gem who assigned her this mission, Onyx. Literally. She burst into the room without even making an appointment first, protocol be damned. Needless to say, Onyx was not very happy as she snarled, "what do you think you are doing?" But her expression changed when Peridot told her what had happened.

"Hmm," Onxy said aloud, tapping on her screen. "That won't do at all. Show me the thing you found," she demanded.

Peridot held out one of her touch stumps with the sticker attached to it.

Onxy narrowed her eyes. "What is that?"

Peridot shrugged before looking at it again. "I am not sure. Perhaps I could do some re-"

"It doesn't matter," Onyx grumbled. "The report on the Cluster is more important. Yellow Diamond is growing impatient," she cleared her throat and sat up straighter as her voice grew more detached. "We will just have to forgo the Galaxy Warp. Your mission remains the same. There is a control room nestled in the heart of the Prime Kindergarten. You are to reactivate it and continue. Is that clear?"

Peridot saluted. "Yes ma'am."

"Good."

Peridot lowered her arms. "But uh, how will I reactivate it and make a report if I can't get to it?"

Onyx grumbled. "You can make your report from here. The control room is connected to ours. As for re-activating it, you are a Peridot. Figure it out. Now get out of my office."

Peridot saluted again, and then promptly left. Maybe if she completed this mission with success, she would be the new manager. Peridot snickered at the thought. She would show that Onyx. For now, she had work to do.

All control rooms could be opened by gems with clearance via handprint. Peridot, being a technician, obviously had the clearance necessary. However, she had no way of getting to the control room to activate it. She walked straight to her room and thought about  all the things she could do.

After three days of thinking, she finally thought of something that could work. Her robonoids. "I can build them way bigger, send them off to Earth with the coordinates to the control room programmed into them, and input my handprint into them so that it can reactivate it. Of course I would only really need to build one," she put a touch stump (finger) to her chin and hummed in thought. "Of course it is always better to be prepared, so I should definitely build more than one." She looked at her screen. "I need to get going if I want to finish this on time," she exclaimed, bursting out of her quarters and down the hall. She was in such a hurry that she didn't even notice the Topaz's until she had run into them, sending both gems to the ground with an 'oomph.'

The leader Topaz snarled, picking herself off of the floor. "I thought I told you to watch where you were going."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I don't have time for this. Get out of my way." She made to shove past them, but the two Topaz's behind the leader pushed her into the nearby wall.

The leader walked up and leaned down into her face. "I don't appreciate the attitude. I think you could use a new one."

Peridot squirmed, not liking feeling helpless. "Put me down. I-I'm sorry, okay? Now please, let me go," she pleaded.

Topaz sneered. "Yeah, sure. But first," she pulled a knuckleduster out of her gem and held it up to Peridot, who swallowed, and squirmed even more. Topaz launched her fist at Peridot, who ducked with reflexes she wasn't aware that she had. Topaz glared, moving faster, but Peridot was a split second quicker. She brought up a gravity connector and made contact with Topaz's stomach. Topaz grunted and dropped Peridot, who ran, but she couldn't help but gloat a little (much to her misfortune as she learned a second later).

"Ha," Peridot taunted. "How's that for a gem who wasn't made to fight?"

The leader was still clutching her stomach. "Get her," she grunted.

The other two lept into action, one of them landing squarely on Peridot in an attempt to poof her.

"You should know...us Peridots are not so easily poofed," she said in a strained voice against the floor because oh my stars that Topaz was heavy.

The other stood above her leering. She nodded to the Topaz on top of Peridot, who brandished her weapon. A quick punch to the back of the head with a knuckleduster was all it took. Peridot dissipated into a poof of smoke, her limb enhancers falling down around her. Her last thought was, 'I hate it when I am proven wrong.'

Darkness. Peridot knew she had been poofed. And she was not happy about it. Not happy at all. But for now, there was nothing she could do. Peridot didn't put much thought into her form, as she would go right back to her limb enhancers. As long as she had a yellow diamond somewhere on her form, she was fine, so she just reformed back to her default form as soon as she possibly could. She was already behind schedule because of what happened with the Galaxy Warp, she didn't need this setting her even more behind.

When Peridot was finally out of her gem, she noticed that at least someone had the decency to send her back to her quarters. As for her limb enhancers and screen, those were completely and totally broken. It seemed as if the Topaz's didn't get enough revenge and decided to wreck her things as well. Peridot grumbled. Now she really was way behind schedule...she picked up her things and sent them off to be fixed, thankfully without having to leave her chambers (without her limb enhancers she was even less powerful). She waited for two weeks for her things to come back, and when they finally did, Peridot made a long report on the Topaz attack.

The Topaz's were immediately brought in and questioned and Peridot never had to worry about them again. She wasn't sure what exactly would be done with them, but she found that she honestly didn't care. 

Once she heard the news, Peridot got to work on her plan. She built plug robonoids day and night for a week and a half. When the last one was up and functioning, she decided to test run them. Of course, everything she did was perfect, but...she didn't want to take any chances. 

Peridot sent one robonoid to where she got her daily resources, and she followed.

In order to get the resources, Peridot had to use a handprint on a console, so this test was perfect.

Everything went accordingly, which made Peridot very happy. She excitedly programmed every robonoid to follow her to the launch site and exited her designated area.

When she got to where she launched the smaller robonoids the first time, she had to make a few modifications in order to fit the new bots. Then, she input the coordinates for the control room, stuck them in the mechanism,  and clicked fire. Then, she waited for feedback.

It took almost an entire week to hear anything, which made Peridot worried and annoyed. They should have arrived at the kindergarten by the third day they landed on that planet. Nonetheless, when she got the notification that finally, one of her robonoids made it to the kindergarten, she raced to the control room and waited for the panel to light up. Every robonoid was supposed to work, and Peridot was very confident that they would, so when they weren't on time, and only one sent the signal, it worried her. Something was obviously wrong, and she was a bit nervous that nothing would work like she originally thought now.

She paced in the room waiting for something to happen, trying not to think about what would happen if she failed this mission. After an eternity (even though it was more like only ten minutes), the console lit up, and Peridot knew it was a success. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was check on the progress of the Cluster and make a report. She could practically hear her praise being sang now.

Peridot pushed a button and found herself looking out at the empty control room in the kindergarten. "No wonder the place was abandoned," Peridot said to herself. "It's disgusting and really small." She clicked another button on her limb enhancer and watched as the green on it lit up with the green on the dashboard. Now she could control the limb enhancers in the room just by moving hers. Now that everything appeared to be working right, it was time to make her report. She turned around and began speaking into her screen.

"Established Gem Projection Link with control room. Plug Robonoid has successfully landed on Planet Earth and entered Prime Kindergarten Control Room in Facet Five. Will proceed to perform status check of Kindergarten," she droned, clicking more buttons on her end. Everything she gathered was being saved directly to her screen. Everything appeared to be fine with the Kindergarten itself, but now she had to check on the injectors. She began moving the enhanvers on earth around to gather readings. "Now accounting for all operational Injectors," she reported, "Checking for aberrations in perimeter." This part was a bit different than she was used to. The data read differently. " Ugh, this Gem Tech is simply archaic," she said, only slightly annoyed.

"I don't know, I think it looks pretty cool," said an unfamiliar voice.

Peridot jumped, looking around the room she was in. No one else had clearance to be there at the moment, and she would report anyone who was. But as she looked, she saw...nothing. She turned to face the screen looking out toward the kindergarten. An unfamiliar creature stood there. Peridot looked at him quickly, and determined that it was probably just some pesky human that wandered down there, and had gotten lost. Nevertheless, Peridot quickly cancelled everything, before turning back to the monitor.

"Hi! I'm Steven," the human greeted.

This was definitely going into her report. No way was Peridot taking the fall for this. "There appears to be an infestation of "Stevens" in the Kindergarten," she said in a nasally voice. "

"Naw, I'm not so bad once you get to know me!" it exclaimed.

"And how many more Stevens are present in this area?"

The Steven looked confused for the briefest second. "Oh - just me."

Peridot sagged with relief. Good. One less thing she had to worry about. "Nee-ah, that's a relief. So tell me - Have Stevens replaced humans as the dominant species on Earth?" She was genuinely curious. Maybe it was time to update Homeworlds information on Earth and humans.

The Steven shook its head and smiled. "Oh no - there's lots of humans, there's my dad, Connie, Lars and Sadie, the mailman, Onion... I think... lots of people."

Peridot hummed in thought, though she was beginning to care less.

"Now I get to ask a question," the Steven proclaimed, "what are you doing?"

This human really thought Peridot would just tell it everything? Please, like that would ever happen. She decided it would just save time to end things now, so she could get back to work. "Hm, just picking up where we left off," she said, turning around and raising a fist in the air, and bringing it down. However, the fist came to a sudden halt, much to Peridot's confusion. She turned back around and jumped. No human was that strong. Which meant it could only be-"A Gem!" Two more appeared beside the first. "Ah! More?" Peridot could see the gem on the one is a Pearl, and judging by the color of the other, it was an Amethyst. (Though it was very small, and why was there a Pearl here?) They had weapons and looked very angry. "But the Red Eye didn't report the presence of any Gems on this planet!" Peridot exclaimed, confused. Did Onyx lie to her? No, that couldn't have been right. But she must have gotten the wrong information, or there was an error with the Red Eye, or something.

The Pearl blushed a teal color. "That's because we destroyed it."

"You what? But the records say that Gems were wiped out on earth... wait a minute..." It was starting to make sense. If they were gems, they could travel via warp, and that meant- "You're the ones that have been destroying my Plug Robonoids... are you the reason the Homeworld Warp is down again? Is THIS your bizarre icon?" Peridot is beginning to get flustered and angry. No one touched her things. She held up the icon of the thing she found (the Crying Breakfast Friends sticker) on the Galaxy Warp. "Uhrooh!!! Why do you keep destroying my THINGS?!" she demanded to know.

"Because we are the Crystal Gems! We're still alive, and we're still the guardians of this planet and all its living creatures!" the Pearl said heatedly. 

"The Crystal Gems?" Peridot asked, thrown a bit.

The earth Gems suddenly jumped and began attacking Peridot's giant hovering hand constructs.

Now they were really getting on her nerves. "Stop!" she demanded. "How dare you? I'm doing this one way or another. You're just... making it... really... difficult!" 

"Amethyst, now!" The tall gem commanded, clearly the leader. 

The Amethyst took out a whip and threw the end at the power source, effectively breaking it.

"I'm reporting this!" Peridot shouted, as the screens went dark on both ends.

She slammed every button on the console, but nothing would light up. "Crystal clods. They think they can just destroy my things and fet away with it? I'll show them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaahhh omg you guys I am soooo sorry!!! I told myself that I would update weekly, but that did not work. I feel awful for making you wait, I always seem to be so busy or out of energy, and I need to get better at that. Please bare with me, and keep showing support as it motivates me to update more frequently, since I don't want to disappoint you guys or keep you waiting. Thank you for all the support so far, trust me, I am continuing on with this series. Also, one last thing, this chapter got really long so I decided to split it into two parts, so be expecting another Peri story soon. Thanks guys! 
> 
> Jk, this is the last thing. I tried to keep this canon, while also adding my own spin. Idk if it's true, you can disagree if you want but a part of me feels like Peridots kinda replaced Pearls toward the end of the rebellion, and they weren't given powers, because Homworl was afraid of another revolt, this time involving Peridots. Idk, that's just what I think, so that's kinda the basis, except Peridots are able to do much more than Pearls on Homeworld.


	9. Peridot P2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is part 2 of the last chapter. We are finishing up Peridot's journey for now, and she is prepared to go to earth and finish her mission by all means necessary. Of course if you are caught up with the show, you know how that goes...

Peridot marched her way to Onyx's room for the third time, finding it easily. Needless to say, Onyx was not very happy as she snarled, "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

Peridot saluted. "Ma'am, I come to you with urgent news." And then, Peridot told Onyx about everything that had happened. At the end of the story, Onyx sighed. "Attacked by Topaz's, can't complete a single mission, and it sounds to me like you are losing your mind. Crystal Gems? Those don't exist anymore. I'm starting to think Yellow Diamond chose the wrong gem for this job."

Peridot shook her head. "No, no, no, I can handle this. I can go to Earth and handle things that way, and if I run into any...problems, I can take care of them. I just need an escort, someone to help me if these problems turn heated."

Onyx sighed again, and folded her touch stumps together. "I will have to ask my superior," she rubbed her temples. For now you should hold off and wait for instructions."

Peridot nodded, almost in awe. She had never seen Onyx look so flustered. The gem looked exhausted. She saluted once more, and exited the office.

Peridot did as she was told, but that didn't mean she kept quiet about what was going on. Oh sure, she didn't specifically mention the Crystal Gems (she wasn't stupid, she didn't need to get the Diamonds involved and be shattered for being a "rebellion starter"), but she did mention Gems on Earth messing with her work, and how she was going to go down and give them a piece of her mind. The others just laughed in her face and called her crazy, but that didn't affect Peridot. In fact, it made her glad. She could show them that she too could handle it, and be successful, and then laugh in their faces for being wrong.

After about a week, Peridot was called back to the office. "Okay," Onyx said as she entered and sat down, "so we are giving you what you asked for. A Jasper has been assigned to you, one of the best in her rank. And, we have also decided to give you an informant. A Lapis Lazuli to be exact."

Peridot was confused. She didn't ask for an informant, and Lazulis were quite rare these days anyway.

Onyx could see this confusion and explained. "She arrived to us about two half cycles ago. A gem caught her sending a message via wailing stone to Earth. I didn't even know those still existed, "Onyx added under her breath. "She was put on trial as a traitor, even though she claimed the only one she cared about was this Steven..."

"Steven, of course. But how would the Lazuli know him?" Peridot wondered.

"So in order for her to prove it, we are sending her with you. We want you three to round up these gems with the help of the Lazuli's information since she came from Earth, and destroy them. Jasper and Lapis are to return and report, and you are to stay and reactivate the Kindergarten. Do you understand? And I hope this time, I don't see you again."

Peridot nodded, just as happy to not have to see the irritable Onyx again, and that she was being given another chance at this mission. "I won't let you down."

Onyx rolled her eyes. "There will be a ship at the docking bay at 17:06:534. You are to report down there, and leave for Earth soon after that."

Peridot nodded, saluted, and just as she was about to leave, Onyx said, Oh, and Peridot?" Peridot turned her head. "Don't let me down. But more importantly, don't let Yellow Diamond down." Peridot nodded with resolve, and a day later found herself at the docking bay.

A Jasper stood against it, arms crossed, a scowl on her face. "You're late," she said in a gruff voice.

Peridot rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not," she looked at her screen. It was exactly 17:06:534. "I am exactly on time."

"Yeah, well us Jaspers like to be early to things. You'll find more things get done when you are early."

"Whatever," Peridot said in her nasally voice. "Where is our informant?"

Jasper shrugged, but the answer soon became obvious when the gem in question was being led toward them by two Amethysts. The Lazuli was chained on their way over, and then the Amethysts unchained her and left without saying another word.

"It's about time," Jasper remarked, heading into the ship.

Peridot looked at Lapis. "You had better follow orders, because I will be reporting everything. I've got my eye on you."

Lapis glared at Peridot and Peridot knew she was pushing it. Lazuli's were ten times greater than peridots, and they both knew it, but this Peridot was sick of losing, and apparently Lapis was sick of fighting as her glare withered and her eyes dropped to the ground.

"Huh," Peridot said, sidestepping to let Lapis on board. Peridot took one more look around at her home, sure she would be back, and when she did come back, every gem would be lined up, cheering for her. Maybe even Yellow Diamond would be there, and she would praise her for a job well done. Peridot snickered in glee. She couldn't wait! She saluted, turned to the ship, and went inside. A quick check later, and the ship took off.

They were headed to Earth.  
_______________________________________________________  
"Aand that's about it. The rest you pretty much know," Peridot said, finishing up her story.

Steven had stars in his eyes. "Woooww Peridot, a lot happened to you on Homeworld. I'm sorry you never got the praise you wanted from Yellow Diamond though," he said more quietly.

Peridot nodded and shrugged. "It's better this way. I'm free here. I don't have to take orders, and I can get praise from anyone, even myself if I so choose."

Steven smiled and gave Peridot a hug. "You have come such a long way."

Lapis sighed and flew off the loft to the floor below. 

Both Steven and Peridot looked at each other. 

"I have a few more stories I can tell you, but it might have to be another time. I wanna check on Lapis."

Steven nodded. "Thank you for telling me what you did. I will help with Lapis too." And with that, they both climbed down the ladder.  
_______________________________________________________  
Pre Notes:

17:06:534 is clearly not a time we are really familiar with, I made it up because I feel like the time would be kinda different on Homeworld, since they are in another part of the Galaxy, idk, I just wanted to explain that so no one was confused haha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand that wraps up that story for now. Yayy guys I actually updated in a "timely" matter. The next chapter will probably be more on Rose and Pearl the rebellion because I'm feelin' it right now haha. So yeah, that make take me a littler longer, but be expecting that sometime soon, hopefully. Anyways, thank you for reading! This may be the end of Peridot's story for now, but it's not the end. I have other stories for her to tell. And as far as Lapis goes, I have decided to hold off on her for a little bit. I feel like her story is much different in the sense that if I write it, it will be completely off and maybe even disproved soon idk, I still wanna write a Lapis story, especially because of the way I ended it lol, but I am probably going to hold off for now. I did try to make Peridot's story as "canon" as possible, so I hope you enjoyed it!


	10. Before the Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter for the rebellion arc.

The ship landed on a lush green organic bed, and its door opened to reveal the passengers inside.

Rose exited first, taking in the colorful surroundings...and gasped. 

Everything here was so vibrant and colorful. Nothing like Homeworld. Sure they had color, but here, every color was mixed and swapped to form this remarkable view. The grass and trees were a combination of light and dark greens, even the dirt was different colors of reds and browns.

There were many noises coming from the strange organic life. High-pitched noises coming from flying creatures above, and low chittering noises from scurrying creatures below.

"My lady? Are you alright?" Pearl asked.

Rose looked back at her and smiled. "Oh yes, I am perfectly fine. Sorry for startling you. Look at this!" she exclaimed suddenly, yanking Pearl by her side.

Pearl eyes widened as she too took in her colorful surroundings. "It's so...beautiful..." she whispered.

Rose felt light. For the first time in many years she felt like she could do what she pleased without the constant supervision of the Diamonds. Sure, they would be checked up on, and she had to give reports, but for the first time Rose felt...free.

"It feels freeing," Pearl echoed the thoughts running through Rose's head, before blushing like she hadn't meant to say that aloud.

"That it does my pearl. That it does." Rose stepped off of the platform of the ship onto the grass, which was also organic. This whole planet seemed to be. 

It was soft and tickled her feet and Rose phased out of her usual Homeworld uniform. She changed into the white flowing dress she wore when she was alone, and left her feet bare. Her pink hair fell in long ringlets down her back.

Pearl gasped silently. She thought Rose was beautiful before, but now that she seemed more relaxed and at ease she was...magnificent. Pearl blushed. Gems of her caliber should admire their owners, but that was all. Nothing else.

Rose turned to look at Pearl, and smiled. "Shall we explore?"

Pearl barely gave a nod. She wasn't sure if Rose was somehow testing her obedience and compliancy.

"Come along then." And they were off.

Rose walked and walked for hours, Pearl following close behind. She tried to keep her eyes straight ahead and wait for orders like she was taught on Homeworld, but she couldn't help but let her eyes wander. They were surrounded on all sides by green and brown organic life. Some of it was short, and others were very tall and long. Along the ground was multicolored organic life. Creatures flew overhead, while others walked along the ground looking for food, taking off into safety whenever Rose and Pearl would get closer.

"It seems as though this planet is wholly organic," Rose commented.

Pearl agreed, but said nothing. She could feel the Quartz's eyes on her, but she purposely had her gaze turned at the ground.

"What are you thinking?" the Quartz asked after some time.

"Just that...you're right. There is a lot of organic life. It's, it's beautiful," she added as an afterthought, although she was immediately ashamed that she said so much to begin with. "I am sorry," she said softly.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "What ever for? I asked you a question, and you answered."

Pearl looked up and realized that she was walking side by side with Rose. She quickly slowed her pace so that she was behind Rose and she averted her eyes.

Rose stopped in the clearing, and turned to face Pearl. "Pearl," Rose said.

Pearl stopped as well and saluted. "Yes my lady?"

Rose looked at her, gaze soft. "Please don't be afraid to speak with me."

"But pearls-"

"I know," Rose interrupted, "pearls aren't to speak unless directly spoken to, but I am telling you that it's okay. We aren't on Homeworld right now. I'm not going to punish you for speaking out of place."

Pearl nodded, but said nothing.

"What are you thinking?" Rose asked. "Well?" when there wasn't an answer.

Pearl jumped, looking frightened. "J-Just that you are very different from my previous owner..."

"Previous owner?"

Pearl shuddered. "White Diamond." And then, Pearl broke into tears, an uncommon thing for a pearl. They didn't do anything unless asked to, including crying, singing, and dancing (unless mourning the death of their owner), and this pearl was not following that standard, which was how Rose knew she was different. However, right now, Rose didn't know what to do. Owning a Pearl was so new to her. She was used to gems of her own rank, and if they were upset then they would just give each other a good shoulder punch and tell them to suck it up. But a dainty little pearl? And White Diamond's nonetheless? No wonder why the poor thing was crying.

Rose walked over to Pearl, who was now kneeling on the ground, and she kneeled beside her. "Do you want to talk about it? Please know that this is just a question, and you don't have to if you don't want to," she added, worried the pearl would think it was a demand.

Pearl looked relieved that it was a decision and not a demand. "N-not ri-right now," she stuttered.

Rose nodded as she stood, and held out a hand, something she never thought she would be doing for a pearl.

Pearl looked down at the hand, and tentatively back up at Rose, and then down at the hand again. Slowly, she placed her delicate but slender fingers in Rose's hand and allowed herself to be pulled up. A buzz went down Pearl's arm and the same happened to Rose, who tried not to read into it.

"Come on, let's continue on our way."  
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A few days later, Rose and Pearl stumbled upon a clearing. The clearing appeared to have little homes and organic creatures young, old, small, and large making weird noises, playing, or sitting by a fire.

"Hmm, what is this?" Rose wondered a bit too loudly. One of the creatures was nearby and happened to hear (though both doubted it understood what Rose was saying) and it said something in gibberish, before tugging on Rose's hand. She let herself be pulled out, and Pearl followed behind.

The organic creature could walk on two feet like a gem, and it had many strange behaviors. One that Pearl understood very well though, was fear. The creatures were very afraid of the unknown, and also dangerously curious. The males (according to the data they were given, this was a male by his more prominent features) would attack any creature that threatened, and Rose had to save about eight or more from dying. 

The humans also had gross habits. They cooked organic material in a fire, and then ate the finished product. What happened to the food after was horrible to even think about.

By this time, Rose and the leader of the group had gotten along well. Pearl sat near a tent as Rose laughed with the creatures (humans as she later told Pearl they were called) and even tried speaking to them in their language. Pearl admired Rose. She was very different from her previous owner, and more warm, and she was...well she was beautiful. Every time Rose laughed, Pearl wanted to laugh. She safe, which was something she had never felt before. Rose looked freer here, on this organic life filled planet, and more at home, then she ever had on Homeworld. On Homeworld, she was reserved and loyal and Pearl was just expecting another harsh master. Here, she talked, laughed, and told jokes.

Rose had seen Pearl watching and waved her over to the fire. Pearl got up from her spot, and slowly, and gracefully walked to the group, eyes downcast like a good pearl (just because Rose could have fun, didn't mean that suddenly Pearl could stop being a pearl). Rose  frowned a little at Pearl but then shrugged it off. Pearl kneeled beside Rose, who was sitting cross legged on the ground. 

The leader of the humans was speaking, gesturing grandly at the sky, and more importantly, the stars. The other humans looked to the stars, listening intently, some smiling, others nodding, and a few with their eyes closed in serenity.

"The stars are so beautiful," Rose whispered, startling Pearl, who looked up from her gaze on the ground.

Pearl looked up briefly. The sky was nothing like looking at the one on Homeworld. Not at all. Pearl looked back down. "How can you even understand what it is saying?" she blurted, before covering her mouth. She hadn't meant to say anything, let alone have it come out sounding like that.

Rose saw the fear in Pearl's eyes, knowing she was expecting some sort of punishment for her actions. And maybe, old Rose would have done something. But being on Earth, surrounded by these caring beings for several months had changed something within her. Instead, Rose reached over, guilt filling her gut as she saw Pearl flinch, and grabbed the lithe gem's delicate hand.

Pearl looked over with wide eyes when she felt a bigger hand grab her own. This was not what she was expecting, not at all, and Pearl was beyond confused.

Rose gave her a small smile, and carefully squeezed Pearl's hand. The stars reflected themselves in Rose's eyes, and the glow of the fire made her hair a pink-orange color. "You know, sometimes it isn't about what is being said, but what is being done, the emotion behind it. Anything can be said in any language, but that means nothing. No, I don't know much about what they are saying, but I know that they are peaceful, and that they are learning new things everyday, and I think that is beautiful in itself."

Pearl nodded, entranced by the words. Rose squeezed her hand again and turned to look at the stars. 

After a moment, so did Pearl. This time when she looked at them, really looked, she could see the true beauty of them. Of course they weren't like Homeworld's. Nothing on this planet would probably come close, and that fact made them more unique and even more beautiful. For once, Pearl felt at ease, and allowed herself a peaceful smile.  
_____________________________________________

Rose was getting better at speaking with the humans. She could say a few sentences to them now, and tried to speak to them every chance she got.

Pearl decided that when Rose didn't need her, she could make herself useful else where, which Rose didn't seem to mind at all. On Homeworld, she would most likely be shattered for venturing off without the permission of her master, but it was different here, as was just about everything else. Pearl decided she would pass the time helping the humans with the cleaning, the women with the sewing, which was actually fascinating, and she even helped plants fruits and vegetables in the garden. Granted, she didn't eat any of the things that grew, but she couldn't help but to feel a sense of pride at being a part of creating something. She would make the holes, put in the seeds, and then help the humans carry up the water from a nearby stream. 

Afterward, she would go sit by the big oak tree and cool down. Sometimes, Rose would join her and they would just sit and watch the humans. Today was not one of those days however. Rose looked very busy, and very serious, and for a moment, Pearl was worried she was back to Homeworld Rose, and that Earth Rose was gone. Then Rose nodded enthusiastically and smiled at something the human had said, and Pearl felt better.

Later on that same evening, the humans were in high spirits, some singing, some clapping, and others dancing merrily. Pearl watched with an amused smile. Humans found such strange ways to occupy themselves. Rose was clapping along to the music as well and smiled down at Pearl, wondering what she thought of all of this. She got her answer seconds later.

"What exactly is it that they are celebrating?" Pearl asked, no longer nervous to speak without being spoken to.

"A few things. Their main celebration is more of a ritual to honor the rain so it helps them grow more crops this year, and fills the stream. They are also celebrating our friendship. Tomorrow, we go and find a base to start putting down injectors, but tonight, we celebrate."

Rain? Pearl briefly wondered what that was, but then the last thing Rose had said played in her mind. Pearl had almost completely forgotten about their original mission and she shook her head. How could she have been so silly as to get caught up in all of this? She was from Homeworld, they both were, and they weren't behaving as they should have, neither one of them.

One of the humans walked over to Rose and pulled her up. Rose giggled and followed, trying to dance in a similar fashion. When she caught Pearl looking, she waved her over, but Pearl shook her head. She didn't want to dance, not at all, "Pearl dance for me," "Yes My Diamond," ringing through her head the whole time. Rose nodded and understanding passed through her eyes. She looked apologetic, but then the human spun her, and that was that. Pearl did begin to clap along as the song got faster though, smiling as she watched Rose laugh and have fun. The claps were dainty, but loud. She may have been a pearl, and she may have been from Homeworld, and yes, they had a job to do the next day, but tonight, both of them could have some fun.  
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Pre-Notes: Just a few quick things. First, the pov kinda switches from Rose to Pearl at random times while still being in 3rd pov. Second, i used the word organic a lot because, well that's what we are haha, but also keep in mind that these gems don't know much about earth. They aren't going to know what bunnies, or deer, or birds are, at least for a few more years, and even grass or the trees. They are learning, and i tried to portray that as best i could w/out it seeming like i was just being repetitive or confusing you guys. However, i left some things alone to move the story along and to just make sense of the story, not everything is really written from a gem pov, if that makes sense? Haha it probably doesn't, so sorry, i just felt like i had to explain myself a little. Hope you enjoyed! And if you read all of that, kudos to you and i love you ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I am back with another chapter of Rose and Pearl before the Rebellion...(i can't remember if the title is right btw, sorry). This is a part 2, but the chapters are going to be kind of long, so I decided to have mutilple chapters for each part. The next chapter is coming soon, so be looking for that. Also, comment and let me know if you would like a separate story for this particular part instead. I have big plans for this little story and I want you guys to be able to enjoy it. But yeah, if you would rather read this arc as a whole other story instead, just let me know, and i will try to update it often.
> 
>  
> 
> GOOD NEWS: it is almost the end of the school year, which means things are winding down, which also means that I will have more time to write my stories. YAY!
> 
> P.S i say the chapters are long, but i have read longer, and I know my chapters aren't really that long. If you would like them longer, pls let me know (i probably won't make them shorter as in only a page tho). Thanks guys!


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